WESTCLIFFE, Colo., Oct. 18 (UPI) — Crews are battling three fires in Colorado that have scorched thousands of acres and prompted evacuations.
Warm weather and high winds are fueling the wildfires. Two fires are south of Denver — the Junkins Fire and the Talcott Fire — and one is west of the city — Freeman Fire.
“We don’t have a fire season anymore,” T.J. Steck, fire chief with the Elizabeth Fire Protection District, 46 miles southeast of Denver, told The Denver Channel. “The fire comes at any time of the year for us.”
In the Junkins Fire, more than 175 homes have been evacuated and roughly 70 more are on pre-evacuation. The fire had grown to 15,751 acres Monday night and was burning close to 129 homes in the evacuation area, according to the Custer County Office of Emergency Management. At least one home and five outbuildings were destroyed.
The fire was first spotted about 3:45 a.m. Monday in the Junkins Park area. When first responders arrived, winds were blowing up to 70 mph in the burn’s initial start zone.
The Colorado Department of Transportation closed Colorado 96 between Wetmore and Westcliffe, and Colorado 165 at McKenzie Junction.
The Freeman fire, which began Saturday afternoon near the Ruedi Reservoir in Eagle County, east of Basalt, was estimated at 300 acres and 40 percent contained by Monday night. It is burning in the White River National Forest and no evacuations have been ordered.
In El Paso County, a 14-acre Talcott Fire was spotted about 1 p.m. Monday near Rampart Reservoir. Residents in a dozen homes were briefly evacuated but were allowed to return Monday night. The fire was 50 percent contained as of Monday evening.
A look at the @junkinsfire from Hwy 96 mp 18. #JunkinsFire
