GOLDEN, Colo. -- Firefighters in Jefferson County are attempting to contain a wildfire burning on the north side of North Table Mountain that expanded to more than 200 acres Friday afternoon.
The fire broke out in the 14000 block of 52nd Avenue around 10:30 a.m.
Firefighters in Jefferson County are attempting to contain a wildfire burning on the north side of North Table Mountain that expanded to 200 acres.
The fire broke out in the 14000 block of 52nd Avenue around 10:30 a.m. A ranger with the Jefferson County Open Space told 7News that children with fireworks started the fire. Three children were questioned and then released to their parents, as the investigation into the fire's cause began.
The small one-acre fire started a little more than four hours before a full fire ban was set to go into effect in Jefferson County.
"At the time, officials and residents didn't seem to be concerned about the fire," said Steve Saunders, 7News anchor who was covering the fire when it first started. "Many of the residents told us they thought the fire would burn itself out."
Gusty winds at mid-afternoon, pushed the fire to 100 acres and then more than 200 acres.
Fire officials said a number of homes were in the path of the fire and fire engines were standing by in defensive positions at the homes.
Residents in the Table Rock subdivision were asked to consider evacuating as the fire approached.
Firefighters from Golden, Fairmont, Coal Creek, and Arvada were battling the blaze.
The flames consumed a small barn near one home and the fire was advancing on a number of homes under construction at 4:25 p.m.
An emergency animal shelter was set up at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, to house evacuated animals.
Peggy Cannell at Table Mountain Ranch told 7News she was removing about 100 horses from the ranch at the edge of the fire and moving them to the fairgrounds. Nearby Shiloh Ranch was also evacuating about 100 horses as a result of the fire. By 6 p.m., about 35 horses had already arrived at the fairgrounds.
Two single-engine air tankers were dropping retardant on the fire, but they didn't arrive until just before 5 p.m. Some residents expressed concern that more aggressive efforts to halt the flames weren't made earlier in the day, when the fire was much smaller.
Firefighters were hampered by gusty winds around the flat-topped mesa north of Golden. Those winds pushed the fire in different directions.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from across the Denver metro area.
North Bald Mountain Fire
A wildfire in Larimer County has grown to 40 to 60 acres, officials said Friday afternoon.
The North Bald Mountain Fire, 3 miles southwest of Red Feather Lakes, started Thursday afternoon in the rugged Roosevelt National Forest.
About 55 firefighters, including 15 hot shots, were called in to battle blaze Thursday but couldn't fight it directly because fire activity was so heavy. As a result, the fire has zero containment.
Two additional 20-man crews joined the firefighters Friday. The managed to get a containment line around five percent of the fire.
A single engine air tanker and heli-tanker are helping from the air, by dropping fire retardant and water on the hot spots.
The fire caused the closure and evacuation of North Pine camp found, about a mile from the fire.
The Deadman Road was closed from the lower gate just west Red Feather Lakes to the North Fork Poudre Campground.
The North Bald Mountain Forest Development Road (FDR) 517 and 1.5 to 2 miles of the Killpecker Road FDR 300 was also closed as a result of the fire.
Wildfires were burning on at least 9,200 acres in Colorado Friday, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center in Denver, and the U.S. Forest Service.
The figure included "wildland fire use fires," which are managed for ecological restoration.
Copyright 2006 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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