Wildfire Near Estes Park, Pinewood Springs Lays Down

PINEWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. -- A wildfire was burning out of control in Larimer County Wednesday, forcing the temporary evacuation of more than 100 homes in a subdivision near the fast-moving blaze.

The evacuees were allowed to return to their homes shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

The large billowing smoke plume from the Big Elk Fire could be seen from Longmont and along the Front Range.

The blaze, originally estimated at 2 acres, spread to 200 to 300 acres within an hour, said Eloise Campanella, of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

As of 8 p.m., the fire was estimated at 300 acres and appeared to be slowing down, Campanella said.

The blaze was first reported just after 3 p.m. in the area of Elk Meadows, about 1 mile west of Pinewood Springs, 7 miles southeast of Estes Park, and about a half-mile from Highway 36 near County Road 47.

County Road 47 at Highway 36 has been closed until further notice but Highway 36 remains open, 7NEWS reported.

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During the afternoon, the blaze raced up the side of a steep mountain in the Roosevelt National Forest and was actively crowning -- jumping from treetop to treetop.

Given the tinder dry conditions and the heavily forested, rugged terrain, the blaze grew quickly and does not appear as if it can be contained tonight, 7NEWS reported.

The fire was most volatile Wednesday afternoon, with flames torching as high as 40 to 50 feet.

The wind kept shifting, but at one point in the afternoon, it was pushing the fire to the northwest toward the subdivision of Big Elk Meadows, according to AirTracker Pilot Rich Westra.

"My understanding is it is on National Forest land and is threatening homes on private land," said John Bustos, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman.

Anxious Evacuees Wait

Larimer County evacuated all of the homes in a 1-mile radius from the center of the Big Elk Meadows subdivision, 7NEWS reported. That area encompassed about 125 homes, Campanella said. The Sheriff's Department activated the emergency phone system, or reverse 911, to notify affected residents.

Evacuee Paul McDaniel said that fire officials told him that as of 4:30 p.m., the fire perimeter was about 1 mile from the subdivision and moving toward homes.

Later Wednesday night, the wind shifted and fire moved back on itself, and officials felt confident enough to allow most of the evacuees to return to their homes.

"I was driving home and saw the fire just a few minutes after it started, just as it was hitting the trees," McDaniel said. "So I went to the fire station and they'd already been alerted. But I stopped at my house and told my wife and my daughter to get ready because it didn't look very good.

"We were lucky because I had seen it coming in, so we had about an hour and a half to get ready. So I got the important papers and family photos and all of our animals, except for one cat who was out hunting. We hope that we find her later."

A Red Cross shelter was set up at Estes Park High School on 1600 Manford, but many evacuees gathered at La Chaumiere Restaurant in Pinewood Springs, 7NEWS reported.

That site made for a good staging area because it was 1 mile away from the fire and residents can keep an eye on the smoke pouring over the ridge and see air tankers flying in, 7NEWS Anchor Paula Haddock said.

"When the reverse 911 was put out, a lot of folks were at work around 4 o'clock. So when they came home this evening, there was a roadblock, so they could not get up County Road 47, so they couldn't get to their homes and couldn't get to their pets. So there's a lot of anxious people here," said 7NEWS anchor Paula Haddock.

But some people were able to collect their neighbors' dogs and cats while on the way out of the subdivision, Haddock said.

Gerri Pearson, a resident of Pinewood Springs, said that she received word of the fire just before 4 p.m. When driving in from Boulder, where she works, she said she followed an uninterrupted line of cars filing into town.

When she arrived home, she said her neighbors were loading up their cars and preparing to evacuate.

The Longmont Humane Society said that they were available to take in pets that have been evacuated. Call (303) 772-1232 for more information.

The manager of the Big Elk Meadows subdivision told 7NEWS that there are 155 homes in the subdivision and that they are mostly summer homes, but there are many families and elderly residents who also live there year-round.

Fire officials believe most of the people have been evacuated. No injuries have been reported.

More Fire Crews, Air Support Being Ordered

Fire officials said that they are throwing all of their resources at the fire.

Two air tankers, two 20-person handcrews, and a Type II firefighting team have been ordered to tackle the blaze, which is at zero-percent containment.

Four engines, two initial attack crews and an air tanker are on the scene, said Reghan McDaniel of the Roosevelt National Forest.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but some neighbors in the area are upset after hearing rumors that this fire could have been started by humans.

"I did have a chance to speak with the Forest Service investigators, and they found where the fire started. They didn't know exactly what the situation was, but were of the opinion that it was started by humans," McDaniel said.

No lightning was reported in the area at the time the fire started.