{"id":6456,"date":"2013-06-12T13:00:35","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T19:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/?p=6456"},"modified":"2013-06-19T14:11:16","modified_gmt":"2013-06-19T20:11:16","slug":"multiple-wildfires-destroy-hones-force-closure-of-royal-gorge-and-evacuation-of-prison-in-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/?p=6456","title":{"rendered":"Black Forest Fire Claims Two Lives, 509 Homes Destroyed"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/p>\n

UPDATE, Wednesday, June 19:<\/strong><\/span> The massive Black Forest Fire burning outside Colorado Springs has killed two people and destroyed 509 homes, damaging another 28.\u00a0 This wildfire is the worst wildfire ever to occur in Colorado.\u00a0 As of Wednesday, June 19, the fire is now 85% contained.\u00a0 Costs of fighting the fire have totaled $8.5 million thus far, and officials say they hope to have the fire contained by Thursday, weather permitting.\u00a0 However, as of Wednesday, very hot temperatures have returned along with hot, dry gusty winds and low humidity levels.\u00a0\u00a0 Firefighters say this weather will put them to the test as to how contained the fire actually is, as some hot spots still remain within the burn area.\u00a0 Some residents have been allowed to return to evacuated areas, while about 2,600 remain evacuated.\u00a0 Some of those who lost homes were allowed to briefly go into some of the burned areas to “see for themselves” what remained so they could begin the grieving process.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The following article was written on Wednesday, June 12th, when the Black Forest Fire broke out:<\/div>\n

Record-high temperatures and dry, hot gusty winds are fueling wildfires that are burning up and down the Front Range of Colorado, forcing thousands from their homes as well as the evacuation of hundreds of prisoners from the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility.<\/p>\n

Fueled by tinder dry conditions and strong, gusting winds, a number of fast-moving wildfires blew up on Tuesday and continue to burn mostly uncontained on Wednesday.\u00a0 Fires are burning in areas from Rocky Mountain National Park west of Fort Collins in the northern part of the state to more heavily populated areas near Colorado Springs in the Black Forest down to the popular tourist site of The Royal Gorge<\/a> near Ca\u00f1on City in the south.\u00a0 The Royal Gorge fire has forced the park to close, and there are concerns that the world-famous Royal Gorge Bridge has been either damaged or destroyed.\u00a0 That fire has also forced the evacuation of the staff and 905 prisoners from the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility<\/a> in nearby Ca\u00f1on City.\u00a0 The facility, built in 1871, is the oldest correctional facility in the state\u2019s system.<\/p>\n

By far, the largest and most destructive of the wildfires is the Black Forest Fire, however, which is burning near Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy.\u00a0 Early estimates reported at least 40-60 estate-type homes were destroyed, with many of those worth well over $1 million dollars each.\u00a0 Officials on Wednesday now fear that as many as 80-100 homes in that area have been damaged or destroyed, and the fire continues to burn aggressively with zero percent containment. \u00a0\u00a0The Black Forest Fire is burning near the area where last year\u2019s Waldo Canyon Fire destroyed 346 homes and killed two people.<\/p>\n

Other fires are burning in Rocky Mountain National Park, where no structures are threatened at this time, as well as in rural Huerfano County, where about 200 residences were evacuated west of La Veta.<\/p>\n

A red-flag warning remains in effect for the entire region, meaning strong, hot, gusty winds are expected.\u00a0 These weather conditions will hamper firefighting efforts and possibly force air support to be grounded if the winds become too strong.\u00a0 Officials are also concerned the conditions could cause fires to spread unpredictably.<\/p>\n

FEMA has approved federal funds to help defray firefighting costs for both the Black Forest and Royal Gorge fires.\u00a0 In addition, firefighters from the Air Force Academy are joining the fight and 15 \u201cstrike teams\u201d were ordered to assist with the Black Forest Fire.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said \u201cWe\u2019re going to attack this with everything that we\u2019ve got,\u201d in reference to criticism received after last year\u2019s devastating wildfire season when many felt more should have been done earlier to prevent the losses.<\/p>\n

When asked by a reporter why he thought this was happening to Colorado again, Hickenlooper responded \u201cAfter a wonderful, cool wet spring, we were lulled into thinking we were safe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He then went on to say if it did have to happen again anywhere, \u201cColorado has some of the best and most experienced firefighters in the country,\u201d referring to the experiences gained during last year\u2019s record wildfire season in Colorado.\u00a0 He then warned Coloradans, \u201cBe prepared!\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of us who live in Colorado are still shell shocked from last year\u2019s worst-ever wildfire season.\u00a0 When the skies began to fill with thick plumes of smoke and the smell of fire began permeating everywhere, most of us looked at one another in dismay, once again hoping for the best, yet realizing that we face a long, hot, dry summer ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE, Wednesday, June 19: The massive Black Forest Fire burning outside Colorado Springs has killed two people and destroyed 509 homes, damaging another 28.\u00a0 This wildfire is the worst wildfire ever to occur in Colorado.\u00a0 As of Wednesday, June 19, the fire is now 85% contained.\u00a0 Costs of fighting the fire have totaled $8.5 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-articles","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6456"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6484,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6456\/revisions\/6484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbadamslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}