Denver Police Officers To Help As 416 Fire Blows Up, Forces More Evacuations
DURANGO, Colo. (AP/CBS4) — Residents of more than 2,000 homes have now been ordered to evacuate because of a wildfire burning in southwestern Colorado in extreme conditions. Officers from the Denver Police Department are traveling to help in any way they can.
PHOTO GALLERY: 416 Fire
4:30 p.m.
Authorities ordered the residents of 675 homes to evacuate Sunday morning after the fire burning north of Durango nearly doubled in size to 26 square miles in hot and windy weather in very dry vegetation.
Officials say the cause of the wildfire, which started June 1 in the San Juan National Forest, has not been determined.
The wildfire comes amid a severe drought in the Four Corners area where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet.
Eight Denver police officers, Sergeant Steven Clayborn, Officer Joshua Yballa, Officer Monica DeOssie, Officer David Briggs, Officer Greg Boatman, Officer Brad Baker, Officer Matthew Chase and Officer Claire Smith, headed to southern Colorado. The officers could be there for as long as 10 days.
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10:30 a.m.
A wildfire burning in southwestern Colorado is forcing more people from their homes.
Authorities ordered the residents of 675 homes to evacuate Sunday morning after the fire burning north of Durango nearly doubled in size to 26 square miles in hot, dry and windy weather.
Conditions are forecast to get even worse later in the day.
The Durango Herald reports incident commander Todd Pechota told residents at a community meeting Saturday that the situation is "going to get worse before it gets better."
Residents of a total of 1,975 homes have now been ordered to evacuate. No homes have been lost.
The cause of the fire isn't known. It is 10 percent contained.
Several other smaller fires are also burning in Colorado.
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9:50 a.m.
A wildfire that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in southwestern Colorado has nearly doubled in size in hot, dry and windy weather.
The fire has burned 26 square miles as of Sunday, up from nearly 14 square miles Saturday. Fire spokesman Brian Eady says the change is the result of both natural fire growth and blazes firefighters intentionally set to control the fire's movement.
The Durango Herald reports incident commander Todd Pechota told residents at a community meeting Saturday that the situation is "going to get worse before it gets better."
Residents of about 1,300 homes have been ordered to evacuate, including 220 on Saturday. No homes have been lost.
The cause of the fire isn't known.
Wildfire Resources
- Visit CBSDenver.com's Living With Wildfire section.
Wildfire Photo Galleries
- See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile), the deadliest (Storm King) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
