Alexander Mountain Fire in Colorado grows to 6,840 acres; new mandatory evacuations ordered

The Alexander Mountain Fire in Northern Colorado grew significantly on Tuesday was listed at 6,840 acres Wednesday evening. The wildfire in Larimer County has now been given national priority among the agencies working to battle the fire. New mandatory evacuations were ordered for the Masonville area and Glade Road from Highway 34 to Indian Creek.

The chair of the Larimer County Board of Commissioners declared a disaster emergency on Tuesday afternoon for the fire, which is currently within 10 miles of the western edge of the city of Loveland.

"By declaring a disaster, Larimer County can activate our local Emergency Operations Plan to respond proactively to this ongoing event," said Lori Hodges, director of the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management. "It also allows us to access local disaster policies as well as state and federal resources as needed during this event."

Colorado's governor then followed suit with a statewide disaster declaration for wildfires including the Alexander Mountain Fire.

A new wildfire also started on Tuesday afternoon 8 miles south of the Alexander Mountain Fire burn area. It's called the Stone Canyon Fire and is located north of Lyons. At least two homes have burned in that fire. The northern edge of the evacuation zone for the Stone Canyon Fire now touches the southern edge of the evacuation zone for the Alexander Mountain Fire.

Mike Smith, incident commander for the Alexander Mountain Fire, said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the size of the fire is "changing so rapidly." He attributes the fast growth of the fire to the dryness of fire fuels and the atmosphere, as well as wind conditions. He said a strong northerly wind is blowing now, changing the direction of the fire's spread and complicating firefighting efforts.

Around 270 personnel were working on the fire from the ground and several helicopters and fixed-wing planes were battling and monitoring the fire. Smith said firefighting efforts nationally were facing a "pretty significant shortage of resources," but prioritization from the U.S. Forest Service has helped and will continue to help bring more crews over the next day or two.

The fire is starting to creep up on residential structures, Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said in that 4 p.m. news conference, but none have been damaged.

He urged people in voluntary evacuation zones, especially those with large animals, to start making plans to evacuate so they don't need to take up resources from the sheriff's office to help them evacuate after the sun goes down.

"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 announced around 10:30 a.m.

A map of the evacuation zone -- specifically for the Alexander Mountain Fire, not the Stone Canyon Fire which is just south -- can be seen here:

On Tuesday morning, Copter4 flew over the fire and captured images of the blaze on U.S. Forest Service land.

After the new mandatory evacuations were ordered at noon on Tuesday the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said "Residents must EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

An evacuation center is located at Foundations Church 1380 Denver Avenue in Loveland and being operated by the American Red Cross. The Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, at 1125 Rooftop Way is also open overnight for evacuees. People who need to evacuate large animals should bring them to Island Grove Regional Park at 501 N 14th Ave in Greeley. According to Larimer County Sheriff's Office, this move will allow animal evacuation efforts to continue during the Larimer County Fair and PRCA Rodeo Aug. 2 to Aug. 6. Veterinary professionals are attending the large animal evacuation site to support the health and well-being of displaced animals.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and is under investigation, officials said.

For live updates from the county, you can text LCEVAC to 888777 or go to nocoalerts.org to sign up for alerts.

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.  

Anyone who wants to help or donate anything is asked to contact the Red Cross as the sheriff's office says it's inundated with offers and donations.