Evacuation orders issued in Colorado as wildfire burns near Rocky Mountain National Park
By Monica Garrett and Judson Jones, CNN
A wildfire that sparked in Colorado on Tuesday quickly grew in size, prompting evacuations in the town of Estes Park, near Rocky Mountain National Park.
The Kruger Rock Fire was reported just before 7 a.m. and grew to more than 130 acres by 6:30 p.m. local time, Larimer County officials said. It was about 15% contained Tuesday evening.
Some structures were threatened by flames, but there is, so far, no damage reported, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.
The Estes Park Emergency Communications Center said mandatory evacuations are underway for residents and businesses in the area of Little Valley and Hermit Park due to “immediate and imminent danger.” Voluntary evacuations are advised for residents and businesses in the Meadowdale area and along Highway 36.
Estes Park is a town of about 6,000 residents located 70 miles north of Denver.
Parts of US 36 in the region were closed due to fire activity, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Winds near the Kruger Rock Fire are currently gusting to about 25 to 30 miles per hour out of the west and are expected to strengthen, with gusts up to 50 mph possible. This wind direction will push the fire away from Estes Park, toward the southeast, where mandatory and voluntary evacuations have been issued.
The area will remain windy with gusts to 40 mph through mid-evening when a cold front is expected to bring a wind shift to the northeast and wind speeds will drop to 10 to 20 mph.
The National Weather Service in Boulder is forecasting a very low potential for large plume-dominated fire growth due to moist air conditions with humidity above 25%.
The-CNN-Wire
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