Highway 115 closure for 24 Fire now extended two miles north to Fort Carson Gate 1
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The explosion of growth in Fremont County’s “24 Fire” has led authorities to lengthen the 18-mile closure of Highway 115 that has been in place since Thursday evening.
The closure is now extended two miles north, essentially to Fort Carson’s main gate.
That’s where southbound drivers begin seeing cones, reducing traffic flow from two lanes to one.
Over the weekend, the wildfire grew significantly, from 600 acres on Friday morning to 4,600 acres as of late Sunday.
With six agencies and at least 120 first responders working the fire, authorities likely want to ensure they have plenty of room to move heavy equipment back and forth.
More resources could arrive on Monday, as the fire still has no containment, although crews have been successful so far in keeping the flames from jumping west across the highway toward Fort Carson.
There was additional activity early Monday morning, as a crew was restriping lane markings on the north end of the closure.
A worker told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior that the striping is a separate project unrelated to the fire.
The striping added another navigation challenge for drivers getting accustomed to the new lane configuration brought by the extended highway closure.