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Rabbit Mountain Fire in Boulder County contained after 4 buildings contained

Posted at 6:25 AM, Feb 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-21 11:50:23-05

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. – A fire that charred 151 acres and destroyed four buildings in Boulder County was fully contained as of Tuesday morning. 

The Rabbit Mountain Fire started in Boulder County around 5 p.m. near 63rd Avenue and Highway 66 between Hygiene and Lyons. The fire started as a one-acre blaze in the 6300 block of Ute Highway, but had burned about 50 acres by 6:30 p.m., according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

Evacuations were ordered for Ute Highway east of the 6303 address to 75th Street, as well as for Rabbit Mountain Road north of Ute Highway. The sheriff's office says 75 addresses were told to evacuate and that nine fire agencies responded.

The sheriff's office said residents living south of Rabbit Mountain Road will be allowed to return home at 9 p.m., as will any large animals housed there.

By 9:30 p.m., the fire was 75 percent contained and estimated as being between 50 and 75 acres in size. All evacuation orders are expected to be lifted by 11 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. The fire only grew a half-acre overnight.

The sheriff's office says four buildings are confirmed to have been destroyed in the fire: three outbuildings and one barn. It said that at least one vehicle or horse trailer is also believed to have been destroyed.

The sheriff's office says Life Bridge Church opened for people forced to evacuate and the Boulder Fairgrounds held large animals forced to evacuate.

Watch video from the fire below.


A grass fire that started just before 2 p.m. near Longmont spread for acres, burning several structures. The fire was burning near the intersection of East County Line Road and Highway 52. Watch below: 

Flames bellowed from one structure, which firefighters said was a renovated garage off East County Line Road, not far from Highway 52. The siding on a nearby home also caught fire.

Firefighters said there were no injuries or animal losses from the 30-acre fire.

Mountain View Fire Department said the fire is believed to have started from a controlled agricultural burn that spread amid winds but the exact cause is under investigation.



A one-acre brush fire that burned on Green Mountain Monday morning was the second blaze crews responded to in the area overnight, before the home caught on fire in Longmont. 

AirTracker 7 spotted the second fire burning on William F Hayden Green Mountain Park east of C-470 around 6 a.m. Monday morning. West Metro Fire crews say no structures were threatened and no evacuations were ordered. The fire was fully contained around 8 a.m.

Hours earlier, crews were called to a two-acre fire burning near the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. No structures were reported damaged in that fire.

Investigators are looking into the cause of both fires. Firefighters said the fires appeared to be suspicious and they asked that anyone with information that could help with the investigation call their tip line at (303) 987-7111.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch in the area, which includes most of the upper Front Range and Eastern Plains. Fire danger will increase throughout the day because of high winds and low humidity.  


For additional details on fire danger in Colorado, see our story.

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