Colorado currently faces eight different wildfires.
On Tuesday, a fire dubbed the Buffalo Mountain Fire broke out two miles west of Silverthorne, Colorado, burning about 100 acres of the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests. The Buffalo Mountain Fire is just one of eight fires burning across the state.
The most serious of the fires, the 416 Fire, has burned more than 29,000 acres and prompted several residential evacuations. More than 1,000 people are working to tame the flames, but as incident commander Todd Pechota told CNN, whenever containment progress is made, the fire simply expands in another direction. Officials report that containment is not expected until the end of July.
As of this morning, the Badger Creek Fire is burning at 11,021 acres. The Burro Fire is burning at 2,829 acres while the Horse Park Fire is burning at 1,221 acres. The Natty Fire has been contained and is burning at 79 acres and the Fourmile Fire is burning at 500 acres. The Bocco Fire is burning 415 acres. Officers are reporting that three men were seen leaving the area where the Bocco Fire first started, which has called into question whether or not the blaze was started by human error. Together, all eight fires are burning 45,165 acres.
As a result, officials have closed the 1.8 million acre San Juan National Forest to visitors.
"Under current conditions, one abandoned campfire or spark could cause a catastrophic wildfire, and we are not willing to take that chance with the natural and cultural resources under our protection and care, or with human life and property," Richard Bustamante, SJNF forest fire staff officer, told CNN.
Any violation of this closure could result in thousands of dollars in fines and a potential six-month prison sentence.
RELATED: $36M in fine for teen who ignited Oregon wildfire
This isn’t the first forest closure the West has seen in recent weeks: New Mexico’s Santa Fe National Forest has been closed, as well portions of the Tonto, Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino and Kaibab national forests in Arizona.
Our hearts go out to those affected by the blazes and our thanks to the firefighters hard at work. We hope the danger will die down soon.
Caden
January 3rd, 2020
Wildlife is different than a normal person’s life and we should need to respect all who live in that weather. The essay writing company should know about them really well and they also support them.
Jade Lo
January 20th, 2023
This is great news for the drought-prone regions which depend on snowmelt to water crops and keep people showered. - https://mobiletruckrepairduluth.com
Kkdivine
February 14th, 2023
This isn’t the first forest closure the West has seen in recent weeks: New Mexico’s Santa Fe National Forest has been closed, as well portions of the Tonto, Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino and Kaibab national forests in Arizona.
dianebirch1108@gmail.com
May 24th, 2023
It’s terrible about these things, I was so stressed when reading these sharing articles and I had to look to cuphead online a shooting game to relieve the tension in my mind.