This article by Chase Woodruff first appeared on Colorado Newsline on October 28, 2020.
Colorado’s largest-ever wildfire has resulted in the total loss of at least 440 structures, roughly half of which were homes or cabins, Larimer County officials said in a briefing Wednesday.
Since igniting on August 13, the Cameron Peak Fire has burned an estimated 208,663 acres, making it the largest recorded wildfire in state history. Much of the recent structure loss caused by the fire occurred on Oct. 14, when high winds drove it on a 15-mile eastward run that burned homes in the Crystal Mountain area and along the Buckhorn Creek watershed, even forcing evacuations in communities directly to the west of Fort Collins.
Capt. Joe Shellhammer with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office called the latest damage estimates “devastating information,” and referred impacted residents to the county’s Joint Information Center for help.
“(There are) a lot of resources out there,” Shellhammer said. “We’re really keyed in on recovery, and getting folks back to where they were the day they left their home or cabin.”
Officials also on Wednesday lifted mandatory evacuation orders for residents in the Monument Gulch and Pingree Park area, where the fire hasn’t been active for weeks. Mandatory evacuations are still in place in many areas on the fire’s southeastern edge, including Masonville and Glen Haven, where damage assessments and some fire activity are still ongoing.
Shellhammer acknowledged frustrations on the part of some residents who’ve been forced out of their homes for weeks now, but said that despite significant recent snowfall in the area, the Cameron Peak Fire and the nearby East Troublesome Fire could still pose a risk to certain areas.
“These two fires… are not dead yet,” Shellhammer said. “I need to make sure that we’re making the safest decisions — not getting people back in and then having to pull the trigger and get them back out again.”
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