NJFFSA16
05-09-2002, 06:26 AM
CONIFER, Colo. (AP) - A wildfire that forced 2,400 people to
flee their homes was fully contained Wednesday, and authorities
were investigating whether it was started intentionally.
Cold temperatures and high humidity helped crews contain the
blaze at 6 p.m., fire information officer Kevin Riordan said.
Fire managers reduced their estimate of the fire's size
Wednesday to 200 acres. On Tuesday, it was estimated at 340 acres.
Firefighters on Thursday planned to mop up and reinforce the
fire line in the steep, heavily forested foothills 25 miles west of
Denver. Firefighting costs reached $1.1 million, with about 254
personnel on scene.
"We had a very good day on the fire line," Riordan said.
After first saying lightning probably started the fire,
officials now believe it was human-caused. Investigators were
trying to determine whether it was accidental, said Rick Barton,
spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.
The fire had burned two within a quarter-mile of one house and
was about two miles from a subdivision.
The last of the evacuated residents were allowed back into their
homes Tuesday night.
Denver on Thursday imposed a fire ban on 14,000 acres of
mountain parks it owns in Jefferson, Clear Creek and Douglas
Counties.
After a dry winter, more than 400 wildfires have burned about
15,600 acres in Colorado this year, according to the Rocky Mountain
Area Coordinating Center of the National Interagency Fire Center.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/rmacc.html
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press)
flee their homes was fully contained Wednesday, and authorities
were investigating whether it was started intentionally.
Cold temperatures and high humidity helped crews contain the
blaze at 6 p.m., fire information officer Kevin Riordan said.
Fire managers reduced their estimate of the fire's size
Wednesday to 200 acres. On Tuesday, it was estimated at 340 acres.
Firefighters on Thursday planned to mop up and reinforce the
fire line in the steep, heavily forested foothills 25 miles west of
Denver. Firefighting costs reached $1.1 million, with about 254
personnel on scene.
"We had a very good day on the fire line," Riordan said.
After first saying lightning probably started the fire,
officials now believe it was human-caused. Investigators were
trying to determine whether it was accidental, said Rick Barton,
spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.
The fire had burned two within a quarter-mile of one house and
was about two miles from a subdivision.
The last of the evacuated residents were allowed back into their
homes Tuesday night.
Denver on Thursday imposed a fire ban on 14,000 acres of
mountain parks it owns in Jefferson, Clear Creek and Douglas
Counties.
After a dry winter, more than 400 wildfires have burned about
15,600 acres in Colorado this year, according to the Rocky Mountain
Area Coordinating Center of the National Interagency Fire Center.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/rmacc.html
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press)