Alexander Mountain Fire in Colorado grows to over 1,800 acres Tuesday morning: "Prioritized nationally"
The Alexander Mountain Fire in Larimer County grew slowly overnight but then doubled in size Tuesday to over 1,800 acres around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire has now been given national priority among the agencies working to battle the fire.
"Due to the proximity to critical infrastructure and communities, this fire has been prioritized nationally and we have great support from state and local cooperators. A complex incident management team will be arriving in the next 24-48 hours," the U.S. Forest Service said around 10:30 a.m.
The fire forced evacuations in Big Thompson Valley on Monday. What was initially reported at about 100 acres around 10:30 a.m. that day grew to 365 acres in a few hours and then 950 acres by the evening with 0% containment.
Tuesday morning, Copter4 flew over the fire and captured images of the blaze on U.S. Forest Service land.
The fire is currently about 20 miles west of Loveland. The Forest Service says it has over 220 people working on the fire from the ground and several helicopters and fixed-wing planes battling and monitoring the fire.
CBS News Colorado's weather team is keeping a close eye on the wind Tuesday. They say its slow speed is what helped keep the fire from spreading and people can expect winds around 5 mph in the morning, but expect it to pick up to 10 to 20 mph Tuesday evening, which could cause the fire to spread.
An overnight evacuation center was set up at Foundations Church 1380 Denver Avenue in Loveland by the American Red Cross. Namaqua Elementary School, which had been set up for evacuees during the day, closed before daybreak. The Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, at 1125 Rooftop Way is also open overnight for evacuees. The evacuation location for animals is The Ranch, at 5290 Arena Circle in Loveland.
A map of the evacuation zone can be seen here:
For live updates from the county, you can text LCEVAC to 888777.
NASA and the U.S. Forest Service have a map showing the real size of the fire, as mapped by its aircraft, and surrounding hot spots.
CBS News also has an interactive wildfire map that shows wildfires across the U.S. You can find that here.