A wildfire burning about five miles west of Cripple Creek has forced residents of the area to evacuate, and others remain on pre-evacuation status.
According to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and fire officials, the High Park fire, which was reported at around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, has burned about 386 acres, less than a square mile. About 120 people have been evacuated from the Lakmoor subdivision and Cripple Creek Ranch are on pre-evacuation – be ready to flee – notices. An evacuation shelter has been established in Cripple Creek with the local school district.
The High Park Fire is burning on BLM/Taylor County land approximately 5.5 miles west of Cripple Creek. The fire was reported on May 12 at 4:16 pm. Mapped over 386 acres by the State of Colorado’s Multi-Mission Aircraft. Fire remains at BLM, no structures in danger at this time. https://t.co/oEznoiU3ZO
— Lt. Bunting, PIO (@TCSOPIO) 13 May 2022
The fire is burning mostly on Bureau of Land Management land, and no structures are immediately threatened, the sheriff’s office said Friday. Several fire agencies, including the US Forest Service, are working on the fire, with air support from ground crew and two helicopters. A big air tanker is also making drops on the fire. No injuries have been reported.
The fire was brought under 0% control by Friday afternoon. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The flame is burning through mostly pinyon, juniper and ponderosa pine and grasslands. A red flag warning of a fire hazard has been posted for the area by the National Weather Service until 8 p.m. Friday.
wildfire map
Click on the markers for details, use the buttons to change what the wildfire shows. Map data is updated automatically by government agencies and may lag behind real-time events. Incident types are numbered 1-5 – a type 1 incident is a large, complex wildfire that affects people and critical infrastructure, a type 5 incident is a small wildfire that involves few workers. Find out more about incident types at the bottom of this page.
