More Evacuations Ordered As Cameron Peak Fire Grows To 4,600+ Acres
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- The Cameron Peak Fire burning in Larimer County has grown to more than 4,600 acres on Friday afternoon. More evacuations were ordered as well as many road closures in place surrounding the fire.
The #CameronPassFire is estimated at 4,600 acres. A Type 2 Incident Management Team will take over the fire tomorrow morning in close coordination with local resources. This afternoon the fire spotted south of Hwy 14. That spot is estimated at ~100 acres. https://t.co/6nUXXvYuTq
— Canyon Lakes Ranger RD (@usfsclrd) August 15, 2020
The U.S. Forest Service confirmed the growth in size on Friday afternoon. The fire is more than twice the size it was estimated earlier in the day.
Smoke plumes from Cameron Peak and Willams Fork fires flooding Fort Collins and Denver metro with smoke! #cowx pic.twitter.com/IAo6WTxKa6
— Dave Aguilera (@DaveCBS4) August 15, 2020
Highway 14 remains closed from Rustic to Gould. The evacuation area has expanded to including the following boundaries: Highway 14 from Rustic to Gould, County Road 103 at the Laramie River Valley Road, Highway 14 and Deadman Road (Four Corners), Deadman Road to County Roads 103 and 73C (Red Feather SW), Manhattan Road to Rustic and Boy Scout Ranch Road and Pingree Park south and west of Crown Point.
#CameronPeakFire Evac Update -
— Larimer Sheriff (@LarimerSheriff) August 14, 2020
Deadman Rd > CR 103 and CR73C (Red Feather SW)
Manhattan Rd > Rustic and Boy Scout Ranch Rd, and Pingree Park south and west of Crown Point.
2/2
The Cameron Peak Fire started on Thursday afternoon and is located 25 miles east of Walden and 15 miles southwest of Red Feather Lakes near Cameron Pass.
A map of the #CameronPeakFire is now available on Inciweb. We do not have a new estimate on size, but the fire has been very active today and continues to grow. The fire remains north of Highway 14. https://t.co/6nUXXvYuTq pic.twitter.com/2makQPh44c
— Canyon Lakes Ranger RD (@usfsclrd) August 14, 2020
The fire is expected to grow substantially due to weather and mirror patterns similar to Thursday.
Firefighters are being assisted by several helicopters. Crews are waiting for the arrival of additional resources and the Type 2 team. Retardant planes are not being used on the fire because of strong winds but helicopters are able to make water drops.
Fire managers put a closure in place on Friday morning for the Cameron Peak Fire area that will impact camping and hiking activities. A total of 14 campgrounds have been evacuated.