Hundreds of local, state and federal firefighters are still working to contain the Alexander Mountain fire, which ignited Monday and has grown to cover about eight square miles west of Loveland, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The Alexander Mountain fire is the largest currently burning in Colorado. Nobody has reported injuries and no homes or buildings have been destroyed. Investigators are probing the cause of the fire, which was reported through a 911 call Monday morning.
Nearly 300 firefighters have been working to control the fire, which is still uncontained. For days, crews have worked to control the fire on the ground and through nearly continuous air drops of water and fire retardant. Evacuations have been ordered for a wide area east of Estes Park and west of Loveland.
The fire has been fueled by low humidity, high temperatures and dry trees and brush, the U.S. Forest Service said. Gov. Jared Polis has declared a disaster for the Alexander Mountain fire and other fires burning across the state.
State health authorities have issued an air quality alert for the northern Front Range due to smoke from both the Alexander Mountain fire and the Stone Canyon fire, which is burning 25 miles to the south.
Incident commander Mike Smith said Tuesday that a larger federal team has been requested to help manage the fire. That team will bring more expertise with commanding complex fires, but won’t take control of the operation until Thursday because national resources are stretched thin with so many other major wildfires burning across the country. That includes the Park fire in California, which is now one of the largest wildfires in that state’s history.
Wildfires in Colorado
The Alexander Mountain fire was stoked by dry, warm weather on Tuesday, but firefighters could be helped by cooler weather Wednesday. Winds are expected to be light near the Stone Canyon fire and temperatures are forecasted to be cooler, according to the National Weather Service.
Firefighters plan to focus on the northwest side of the fire and the Highway 34 corridor on Wednesday, according to the Forest Service. Specialized teams of federal firefighters and other federal resources are also expected to arrive Wednesday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
