Click here to listen to “A Jolt of Joan” “SAFETY?”
Extremely dry, windy conditions stoked the High Park Fire on Sunday, prompting hundreds more evacuation notices and grounding firefighting aircraft for hours.
“These are the conditions that kill people — kill firefighters — and we don’t want that,” fire information officer Brett Haberstick said, adding that “historic” weather brought about an environment conducive to flare-ups in the 88-square-mile burn area.
“It’s these kinds of days that challenge what you’ve done.”
The fire grew about 2.6 percent to 56,480 acres Sunday.
Humidity dipped as low as 3 percent, winds reached 50 mph and temperatures hit the mid-90s. The fire began to threaten more structures in areas west of Horsetooth Reservoir, into our Canyon, Redstone. The fires now threaten our home.
More than a week into the lightning-caused fire reported June 9, there’ve been more than 3,000 evacuation notices, one death and 181 homes destroyed. The blaze is the most destructive in Colorado history.
