CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Two homes were destroyed in a wildfire burning near a residential area of Buena Vista, fire officials said Thursday.
The fire was reported in the area of Mountain View Estates/Morrison Creek subdivision shortly after 1 p.m. Mandatory evacuations were then issued for the area, which encompassed approximately 50 homes, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
No one has been reported injured, and no others are facing an immediate threat at the moment, the sheriff's office said.
All evacuees were advised to head to the Chaffee County Public Safety Complex, located at 200 Steele Drive in Buena Vista.
Pre-evacuation notices were in place for the surrounding five miles.
The fire was estimated to be approximately 20 acres in size as of 2 p.m. By Thursday evening, the fire was roughly 60 acres in size and has destroyed two homes, according to Mountain View Fire Rescue. Fifty homes are within the evacuation zone, with 25 of those being in the "hot" zone.
Mountain View Fire crews have made a "great initial attack on the fire with aircraft," according to the department. Personnel from Chaffee County Fire Protection District, Salida Fire Department, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, as well as state and federal resources, are helping in the firefight.
Officials do not believe that the fire has entered public lands, and there is "no concern" about having to evacuate livestock in the area.
Chaffee County government officials said they would intentionally shut off power lines in the area as a safety precaution. It was not immediately clear when power would be restored to residents in the area.
Thursday was declared a “no-burn” day in unincorporated Chaffee County “due to unfavorable fire weather conditions.”
During a no-burn day, it’s unlawful for anyone to build, maintain, attend or use an open fire (such as campfires, warming fires, charcoal fires, any type of charcoal-fueled broilers or bar-b-que grills, fires in wood-burning stoves, and the prescribed burning of fence lines or rows, ditches, fields, farmlands, rangelands, wildlands, slash piles, trash, and debris), conduct sales of fireworks, or engage in outdoor smoking, “even if such would otherwise constitute an exempt fire,” deputies with the sheriff’s office said.
The fire was 50% contained by Friday morning, according to county government officials.
Deputies with the sheriff's office said in an update they "do not believe we can lift evacuations any time soon," but added they would keep residents informed.
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