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All evacuation orders for Highland Lakes Fire in Teller County are lifted

Highland Lakes Fire
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TELLER COUNTY, Colo. — All Highland Lakes Fire evacuation orders lifted at noon on Wednesday as the investigation into the fire's origin continues.

Residents must present a valid ID or proof of residency to go into the area. The check point is at County Road 51 and 511. Other people will be allowed in at 4 p.m, the Teller County Sheriff's Office said.

Highland Lakes Fire

Firefighters will still be working in the area, the sheriff's office added.

Pre-evacuation orders were lifted at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Highland Lakes Fire began burning near Divide on Monday. As of Tuesday evening, it was 166 acres and is 60% contained. In total, about 700 residences were evacuated and one was destroyed. The fire, which was caused by a person or people, started at a house and spread outward, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said on Tuesday morning. He could not say exactly where or how the fire started, or if a suspect had been identified.

He said investigators are treating the fire as a criminal act.

Highland Lake Fire in Teller County.jpg

Wildfire

Crews dealt windy day at human-caused Highland Lakes Fire in Teller County

Stephanie Butzer

As residents begin to return home Wednesday, the sheriff's office explained how this fire acted differently than others.

"This fire has been different than the other fires that we’ve experienced in the county in that the high winds acted to prevent smoke plumes from rising into the air," the sheriff's office wrote in a Facebook post. "So, while fire was present and remained dangerous, it wasn’t visible from a distance. This may have led some people to believe that the fire did not present a threat to the evacuated areas and may have caused some frustration. Please remember that we in Colorado have some of the best firefighters in the world, and it is with their expertise that we enact evacuations. Be assured that returning residents to their homes is always at the forefront of our minds, but we must ensure that those returning residents will not endanger themselves or their neighbors and will not otherwise distract or hamper the efforts of firefighters and the other first responders."

Teller County is currently under a stage 3 fire ban. This prohibits slash burning, outdoor fires, outdoor cooking, outdoor smoking, outdoor welding (unless approved), fireworks, model rockets, explosives and recreational shooting.


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