Wind-Driven CO Wildfire Forces Evacuations

Nov. 16—A wildfire burning on the south side of Estes Park forced mandatory evacuations Tuesday amid windy and dry conditions.

The Kruger Rock fire quickly grew to about 100 acres Tuesday and was completely uncontained by early afternoon, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

The fire, which may have been started by power lines or a transformer, was first reported before 7 a.m. Tuesday near Little Valley Road and Fish Creek Road. By 10 a.m., the fire was threatening structures but no damage had been reported, according to the sheriff's office.

As of 11 a.m., the fire had burned up Kruger Rock and was moving toward Hermit Park. Heavy smoke blanketed U.S. 36 about seven miles out of Estes Park, forcing authorities to close the highway.

Officials issued mandatory evacuations for the area of Little Valley and Hermit Park on Tuesday morning. Just before noon, a mandatory evacuation order went out for the Meadowdale area south to the Boulder County line, including Big Elk Meadows and Pinewood Springs west of U.S. 36, due to "immediate and imminent danger."

Shortly after 1 p.m., the evacuations were ordered for the area between Pole Hill Road and Panorama Peak, east of U.S. 36. The highway was closed between Mall Road in Estes Park and Apple Valley Road just west of Lyons.

Both residents and business occupants in the evacuation areas were told to leave. Officials said that those in the evacuation areas should not gather belongings or protect their homes or businesses — just evacuate.

Voluntary evacuations were in place for the uplands area of Fish Creek Road.

The Estes Park Event Center at 1125 Rooftop Way served as an evacuation shelter Tuesday, as well as LifeBridge Church at 10345 Ute Highway in Longmont. Small animals could be evacuated to the Larimer Humane Society at 3501 E. 71st St. in Loveland, officials said. Large animals could go to The Ranch at 5280 Arena Circle in Loveland.

About a dozen people gathered at the shelter location in Estes Park Tuesday, where Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said the fire may have been started by a spark from power lines or a transformer in strong overnight winds. A fire investigator was working to confirm those reports.

"My hope is we're not far out from getting folks home but I have to get back to my folks before I know for sure," Smith told evacuees.

Windy conditions were complicating firefighting efforts, Smith said. Strong winds were making it too dangerous for aircraft to fly in the mountains and too unpredictable to send firefighters on the ground, he said.

However, as long as the wind continues to blow mostly in a south/southeast direction, homes in the Little Valley neighborhood will likely be spared, he said. Fire crews were shoring up the back end of the fire to protect the neighborhood should the wind change directions, Smith said.

People at the Estes Park evacuation center were relaxed, and several said they knew what to do Tuesday morning because they experienced evacuations in 2020 during the East Troublesome Fire.

Tom Musslewhite woke around 6:25 a.m. and built a fire to warm the house when he realized he didn't have electricity. His daughter, Debbie Goldwater, woke about an hour later when her brother called to tell them about a mandatory evacuation in the area.

"I got up and dressed as quick as I could. I grabbed my purse and the dog and we left," Goldwater said.

The family were at their Little Valley home during the 2020 East Troublesome fire, a blaze that started on Oct. 14, 2020, and burned more than 193,000 acres before it fizzled.

"We knew not to wait," Musslewhite said about receiving notice to evacuate. Fire crews came to their door shortly after his son called.

The evacuees were encouraged to hear winds were blowing flames away from their subdivision. But they worried about the electricity going out. Freezing temperatures overnight could cause their plumbing to burst.

"We're hoping we get power restored before too long because we worry about freezing pipes," Musslewhite said.

Officials sent out mandatory evacuation notices to 317 contacts and voluntary evacuation notices to 1,149 contacts, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokesman David Moore said. That number is likely higher than the actual number of people evacuating because a single person can sign up to receive multiple notifications and be counted as multiple contacts, he said.

A red flag warning went into effect for a significant portion of the Front Range at 10 a.m., lasting until 5 p.m. The area where the fire is burning is not covered by that warning. The National Weather Service in Boulder says winds in the area of Kruger Mountain are gusting 25 mph to 30 mph with humidity of 25% to 30%. NWS forecast winds to strengthen in the afternoon.

Colorado State Patrol asks drivers to avoid U.S. 34 into Estes Park.

In 2020, the state's largest wildfire on record reached the outskirts of Estes Park.

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