A wildfire in the Popular ski town of Breckenridge has claimed 80 acres and forced the evacuation of over 450 homes. The fire was first spotted by a mountain biker Wednesday afternoon in the White River National Forest while the fire was still a small 50 feet by 50 feet blaze. Per the Denver Post, it took firefighters an hour to get to the difficult to navigate and heavily wooded location, which allowed the fire to grow.
Responders worked through the night to contain the blaze, dumping water and slurry via helicopter.
Strong winds and cool overnight temperatures have helped to push the flames back, but officials remain worried as the National Weather Service predicts Thursday will reach 80 degrees.
A spike in heat coupled with a shift in the wind could mean trouble for not only the town, but also for the firefighters in the notoriously dangerous area. Although no injuries or damage to buildings have been reported so far, the White River National Forest is known to contain many beetle-kill trees which can fall unpredictably especially when exposed to flames. Currently, wind is pushing the flames up the side of a hill and into more beetle-kill trees.
No information is known on how the fire was started.
Officials report that it was close to a popular biking trail and have ruled out lightning which is the common cause of most wild fires. Both accidental cause and foul play have not been ruled out.
The Breckenridge fire stated four miles north of the resort and has progressed to about two miles north of the ski resort area, around 500 feet off of the bike path. The exact location is so difficult to get men on the ground that eight forest service firefighters had to parachute in. With last years Tennessee wildfires fresh in everyone's mind, all evacuated residents have been moved to a Red Cross mobile site in the nearby town of Frisco.
Other western states including Nevada, Arizona and Wyoming have seen wildfires so far this summer due to exceptionally hot and dry conditions. According to Summit Daily, large flames are still visible from the valley in the main part of town. As Thursday continues, firefighters and national forest officials hope to keep the fire contained to the beetle-kill area, and with the cooperation of the wind and temperature will hopefully be able to extinguish it by the end of the day which would allow residents to leave the Red Cross shelter and safely return to their homes.
