Despite cooler temperatures over Colorado on Monday, gusty winds will increasing throughout the day keeping the fire danger high along the Front Range.
Crews fighting the Cold Springs fire north of Nederland in Boulder County will face erratic winds through the afternoon.
"It really takes down the relative humidities and then those erratic winds fan the flames on the leading edges," said National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin.
Fredin says fighting the fire becomes tricky because of the variable terrain across the peaks, valleys and meadows in the area.
There is a Red Flag Warning for much of the Front Range north into Wyoming until 8 p.m. Monday. Dry and windy conditions are expected through Tuesday.
Two Arrested
Two campers from Alabama were arrested Sunday in connection with the Cold Springs fire, which has destroyed three homes and three buildings.
Boulder sheriff's deputies said Sunday afternoon that Jimmy Andrew Suggs, 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall, 26, both of whom are from Vinemont, Alabama, face felony arson charges because of the dangers the fire poses, the Denver Post reported. The men were booked into the Boulder County Jail, the newspaper reported.
Authorities say the men left a poorly extinguished campfire, smoldering as hot, dry winds whipped down from mountain peaks, that sparked the fire Saturday, forcing evacuations of nearly 2,000 people southwest of Boulder, the Post reported.
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office says there are 30 more homes in the path of the fire. As of 8 p.m. Sunday, the fire is at 536 acres and is at 0 percent containment.
