A fast-moving wildfire Monday forced residents in Larimer County to briefly evacuate as red flag warnings for critical fire danger loom across the state.
The fire, which was fully contained about 5 p.m., burned west of Berthoud in the 5300 block of County Road 8E, near Dry Creek reservoir, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said.
Fire investigators are still looking into what caused the fire and where it originated, the sheriff’s office said.
The Berthoud Fire Protection District, which responded to the fire about 1:45 p.m., called it a “fast-moving grass fire” that was a “rapidly developing situation” on social media posts.
About 60 firefighters were on scene, some fighting the flames while others knocked on doors to encourage or tell residents to leave, said Andrew Kuiken, a division chief for the district. About 60 homes were placed under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders.
The state’s multimission aircraft that flew over the fire estimated it at 21 acres, Kuiken said.
One house and two outbuildings were destroyed, he said, adding that the fire could have destroyed a lot more if not for homeowners’ mitigation efforts.
“In the neighborhood that it’s spread into, they had done an incredible amount of prep work around their homes and keeping their grass short,” Kuiken said. “That just really gave firefighters a leg up when it came time when we got there.”
“We would have been in a very different outcome if that hadn’t happened.”
No injuries were reported. Firefighters will remain on scene tonight to mop up hot spots.
“It’s still very windy out there, so we have to make sure hot spots aren’t spreading embers that could start more fires,” he said.
Officials are warning that fires could easily spread Monday with strong winds forecast along the Front Range and foothills, paired with low relative humidity and warm weather.