YUMA COUNTY, Colo. — Emergency personnel are responding to multiple wildfires in Yuma County in far northeast Colorado overnight as strong winds continue across the state.
A fire warning is in place for the county with evacuations ordered for anybody who sees an approaching wildfire, the Yuma County Emergency Management said late Wednesday, adding that if you do not see flames, you do not need to evacuate.
As of midnight, three fires remain active, per the Yuma County Sheriff's Office:
- South of Eckley, near the intersection of County Road N and County Road 32, to the intersection of County Road 27 and County Road W. This is near the Heartstrong neighborhood
- County Road 44 and County Road Q
- County Road L and County Road 2
As of about 11 p.m., fires were burning in the following locations, the sheriff's office said. However, all but the three listed above are now contained.
- County Road 33 and County Road M
- County Road 48 and County Road F
- County Road 385 and County Road 44.5
- County Road 43 and County Road N
- County Road 44 and County Road Q
- County Road 49 and County Road Z
- County Road 20 and County Road U
- 10 miles west of Wray
- South of Joes, near County Road L and County Road 2
The county's office of emergency management reported around 9:30 p.m. that strong winds would likely cause these fires to rapidly spread.
The biggest fire currently is the one burning south of Eckley near the Heartstrong neighborhood. In March 2012, a 24,000-acre wildfire burned in this same area, destroying two homes and injuring three firefighters. Our partners at The Denver Post reported at the end of that month that it was sparked by a downed power line.
The exact cause and size of Wednesday evening's fires, and the extent of the damage they have caused, is not known as of 12:45 a.m. as emergency personnel in the small county work to contain the blazes. We are working to confirm those details and will have a crew reporting the latest on Denver7 at 4:30 a.m. and through the morning.
Residents in the Joes and Kirk area were told to evacuate to the Grassroots Center, people in the Wray and Eckley area were instructed to evacuate to Wray City Hall, and those in the Yuma area were told to evacuate to Yuma High School, according to the county. All three of these locations are closed as of 2:15 a.m. Thursday. Anybody who still needs assistance should call 970-630-3799.
The Yuma County Emergency Management also had a message for farmers: "If you have a tractor and disk ready to deploy to help with fires please call 970-397-0431 for instructions of where you can help most."
Yuma residents told Denver7 on Wednesday evening that power has been out since 8 p.m. At 9:25 p.m., the electrical company that services Yuma County activated its Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings, or EPSS, which allows for the power lines to remain in service with extra protection settings. Power lines are more sensitive under EPSS and will stop power if it detects something is touching the power line.
At 11:40 a.m. Thursday, the county had posted online to warn the community about the high risk of a fire.
The National Weather Service posted a radar image on social media showing what it believed were smoke plumes, seen in blue below.
The NWS is reporting wind gusts up to 80 mph in Yuma County, Kit Carson County and Cheyenne County — all along the Kansas border. Blowing dust is also a hazard in this area, so a warning for that is in place until 2 a.m. Thursday.
A red flag warning is in effect for this area on Thursday because "fires could exhibit explosive growth and be impossible to control," the NWS said.
An air quality health advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Thursday due to the wildfire smoke. This applies to eastern Yuma and Kit Carson counties, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
"Moderate to heavy smoke is expected in areas downwind of these fires, including along Highway 385 south of Wray and along I-70 near Burlington," the CDPHE said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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