Early Colorado wildfires this week
Northern Colorado saw small but serious fires this week — evacuation orders were issued and later lifted near Carter Lake Reservoir after a blaze burned several acres and officials said it was likely started by an escaped ember from a container of burning materials. (denverpost.com) Nearby, evacuation warnings northwest of Boulder were also lifted after those fires became mostly contained. (kdvr.com)
A fire that burned just 3.5 acres near Carter Lake Reservoir on April 8 was still enough to trigger mandatory evacuations in Larimer County before crews got it contained. The report came in just after 6 a.m., which tells you how fast a small foothills fire can turn into a leave-now problem. (larimer.gov) Larimer County officials said the Carter Lake-area fire was likely started by an escaped ember from a container of burning materials. In a dry spring, that is the wildfire version of dropping a lit match into a box of paper. (denverpost.com) Carter Lake sits southwest of Loveland and northwest of Berthoud at about 5,760 feet in the foothills, which is exactly the kind of edge zone where grass, brush, roads, homes, and wind all meet. Fires there do not need to be huge to threaten people quickly. (larimer.gov) Larimer County had already tightened fire rules on March 24, when county commissioners adopted fire restrictions for unincorporated areas because of above-normal temperatures, windy conditions, and dry fuels. This week’s fire landed inside that backdrop, not outside it. (larimer.gov) The second scare came the same morning northwest of Boulder, where the Goat Trail Fire started around 3:19 a.m. near the 200 block of Hawthorne Avenue. Boulder Fire-Rescue said it burned about 1.7 to 2 acres before crews stopped its spread. (bouldercolorado.gov) That Boulder warning covered the area west of Hawthorne Avenue, with Linden Drive to the north, Sunshine Canyon to the south, and Broadway to the east. Deputies and police went door to door because many residents were asleep when the fire broke out. (kdvr.com; bouldercolorado.gov) By shortly after 8 a.m., Boulder crews had stopped the fire’s forward progress and issued an all-clear, and by about 9:15 a.m. the fire was 100% contained. A planned helicopter or plane water drop was canceled because firefighters no longer needed it. (bouldercolorado.gov) No injuries were reported in Boulder, and no structures were lost. The Goat Trail itself stayed closed even after residents were allowed back, which is a reminder that “contained” does not mean “back to normal everywhere.” (bouldercolorado.gov; kdvr.com) What ties the Carter Lake fire and the Boulder fire together is timing: both hit on April 8, both stayed relatively small, and both still forced emergency alerts before breakfast. Northern Colorado is getting the spring version of wildfire season, where the acreage can stay low but the disruption arrives immediately. (larimer.gov; bouldercolorado.gov) Boulder officials said the city has seen multiple fires in recent weeks, while county officials in Larimer have been pushing residents to watch real-time fire danger and evacuation maps. The pattern this week was not giant flames on a ridgeline; it was a series of quick, wind-sensitive fires that tested how fast local crews and neighbors could react. (bouldercolorado.gov; aegis.larimer.gov)
