Fire crews responded to a fire several miles south of Morrison Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of US 285 and State Highway 8, a fire that forced the evacuation of one residence and put dozens of other homes in the area under pre-evacuation orders.
Authorities said the fire is near Lindo Mountain and is on the south side of US 285, burning grass, brush and trees. The fire, called the Snow Creek Fire, is about an acre in size, according to authorities.
Later Tuesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said crews were “continuing to make progress” on the fire and that roads that had been closed in the Willow Springs neighborhood throughout the afternoon were beginning to reopen. West Metro Fire said it was 25 percent contained Tuesday night.
The #SnowCreek fire is hard to reach, so three crews of firefighters are moving in with hand tools. In the air, Douglas County is lending its helicopter to the effort. As you can see the conditions are quite smoky for the pilot. pic.twitter.com/jNrDofXbfx
— WestMetroFire (@WestMetroFire) July 12, 2022
“Crews will be on site overnight to monitor fire behavior and will return again tomorrow to work on containment…” the sheriff’s office tweeted.
About 60 homes in the Willow Springs area were placed on a pre-evacuation warning Tuesday afternoon, while one home on the top of the ridge was fully evacuated, West Metro Fire said. Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, which was open as an evacuation site, closed several hours later.
Rhonda Scholting, spokeswoman for West Metro Fire, said during a press conference Tuesday night that it “looks a lot better than when I first got here,” but wouldn’t go so far as to say the fire is under control . However, she spoke of the possibility of “cleaning up” the fire on Wednesday morning.
We are responding to a brush fire in the area of Hwy 285 & Hwy 8, near Lindo Mountain. The fire is on the south side of the highway and is spreading south. We conduct door-to-door evacuations of homes in the area; no structures are immediately threatened. Initial information; there is more. PIO on the way. pic.twitter.com/n9E5bSJvC6
— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) July 12, 2022
West Metro fire officials said on Twitter that the Snow Creek fire was difficult to access, “so three fire crews are moving in with hand tools.” Douglas County is providing a helicopter to fight the fire.
Otherwise, firefighters used two helicopters and two planes to dump water on the fire. Ground crews were deployed on both sides of the fire, setting up a fire line to contain it.
The Snow Creek fire comes just three days after a 105-acre fire broke out in rural Larimer County, north of Wellington. That fire closed Interstate 25 for several hours as dry weather continues to sweep across Colorado.
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