LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. – Another wildfire started Saturday afternoon northwest of Bellvue that officials are calling the Lewstone Fire, which has already forced evacuations.
The fire is located south of Highway 14 and north of Rist Canyon Road about 3 ½ miles west of U.S. 287 and Ted’s Place, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said. The fire was called in at 3:38 p.m. Saturday.
A mandatory evacuation notice was issued around 5:15 p.m. for residents north of Rist Canyon Road, west of Whale Rock Road and east of the Davis Ranch Road “due to immediate and imminent danger.” The evacuation point is Cache La Poudre Middle School at 3515 W County Road 54G in Laporte. People in the area can text LEWSTONE to 888777 for updates.
By Monday afternoon, that mandatory evacuation area was under voluntary evacuations only, and other areas that had been evacuated or under pre-evacuation notices south of Rist Canyon road had bee lifted.
The fire had burned 165 acres and was 12% contained as of Monday morning.
The fire is about 30 miles east-northeast from Chambers Lake, where the Cameron Peak Fire is burning.
