Crews Continue To Battle Fire Near Ken Caryl Valley, Standby Evacuations Lifted
JEFFERSON COUNY, Colo. (CBS4) - Firefighters were called to battle a brush fire in unincorporated Jefferson County near Morrison Wednesday afternoon and thousands of residents were warned to be ready to evacuate. The standby evacuation orders have since been lifted.
UPDATE: CodeRed evacuation targeted 3800 phones for the Ken Caryl Valley for the Level 1 BE READY evacuation #JeffCo http://t.co/3uluEXmzOL
— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) October 14, 2015
The fire broke out near C-470 and Bowles Avenue just after 3 p.m. and spread from near C-470 up a hillside towards the North Ken Caryl Ranch area. Thousands of residents in the Ken Caryl Valley were told to be ready to evacuate. The Level 1 evacuation orders were lifted just after 7:30 p.m.
As of 6:30 p.m. the fire was estimated at 33 acres and was 10 percent contained. West Metro Fire said the fire was laying down.
Air support was dropping water on the fire until 6 p.m.
Travelers were experiencing major delays as C-470 was closed while crews worked to put the fire out. The highway has been reopened.
West Metro Fire tweeted that the fire may have been started by a spark, possibly a cigarette from passing traffic.
#NorthHogbackFire started near 470, possibly a spark from passing traffic. Crews now mopping up a few hot spots pic.twitter.com/qKEqCBSpzD
— WestMetroFire (@WestMetroFire) October 14, 2015
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