At Least 6 Wildfires Under Way In Colorado, Some @ Zero Containment; Temps In 90s, No Rain Near-Term

[hatrack]

Wildfires continued to burn across Colorado on Thursday, some destroying structures while others took direct aim at tourism.

And the National Weather Service's forecast for the next seven days, with temperatures in the 90s, doesn't point to any quick relief.

The East Peak fire, originally dubbed the Scout Ranch fire, in southern Colorado has grown to 9,000 acres with zero percent containment, forcing mandatory evacuations for residents east of the town of La Veta all the way to Interstate 25, and south of Walsenburg to the Las Animas County line.

EDIT

Other wildfires currently in Colorado include:

• The Wild Rose fire near Rangely in Rio Blanco County, which has burned 850 acres and is in the vicinity of numerous oil and gas facilities. That fire is zero percent contained.

• The Bull Gulch fire is burning north of U.S. 50 on Bureau of Land Management-maintained lands, approximately 1 mile east of Table Mountain, and about 9 miles northwest of the intersection of Road Gulch and Copper Gulch Road to the west of Cañon City. That fire has burned 150 acres and is 5 percent contained.

• The Black Forest fire burning near Colorado Springs was declared 100 percent contained Thursday. That fire destroyed at least 509 homes and killed two people. Authorities suspect it was human-caused.

EDIT

http://www.denverpost.com/coloradowildfires2013/ci_23507057/multiple-colorado-wildfires-burning-some-at-zero-containment

[niyad]

1. the smoke was so thick here last night it actually hid the sun. we didn't have this kind of smoke

from the black forest fire, which was right here. I worry for everyone with respiratory problems. no rain, no relief in sight.

[bluedigger]

2. I took this photo two days ago when I was at the dog park in Cortez.

Nobody knew what it was, but looking at the map at the link it may have been a smoke plume from the West Fork fire rising behind the Las Animas mountains between Cortez and Durango. We've had some small ones from lightning strikes a couple weeks ago, but nothing serious yet.