LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — A home was destroyed in a "fast-moving" grass fire that ignited west of Berthoud Monday afternoon, according to a spokesperson with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
The 8e Fire was burning in the Rainbow Lake area and forced the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management to order mandatory evacuations for the 5300 block of W. County Road 8E at around 1:39 p.m. Monday.
The evacuation orders also included homes along County Road 23 on the east going west to County Road 31, as well as homes between Homer Rd. on the north/south to County Road 6. The evacuation orders also included addresses on Malibu and Sherman Dr. Voluntary evacuations were in place on Malibu and Shelby Dr., a spokesperson told Denver7.
In all, 379 contacts received evacuation notices while 341 others received voluntary evacuation notices, said Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kate Kimble.
"That is not necessarily the number of people," she said, explaining those notices went to phones that had signed up for evacuation alerts from the county.
County Road 23, which was closed to traffic, reopened from County Road 8 to County Road 14 at around 3:07 p.m., according to deputies. County Road 8E was still closed westbound. It was not immediately clear if the road had reopened to traffic after evacuation orders were lifted.
Poudre Valley REA, the energy company that services the area, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that they may shut off power lines in the area should first responders request it to prevent more wildfires from sparking due to wind gusts that are expected to die down by about 7 p.m.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Kimble said the fire had grown to about 30 acres in size and that one structure had been impacted. In an update, Larimer County officials said the fire was closer to 21 acres and one home was a "complete loss."
- Denver7 was there when Larimer County officials provided an update on the fire. You can watch the full news conference in the video player below.
The Berthoud Rec Center was available for anyone in need of resources, Kimble said, while a large animal evacuation zone was set up at The Ranch Events Complex, located at 5280 Arena Circle in Loveland.
Fire officials from Loveland, Larimer County, Front Range, Longmont, and Thompson Valley were assisting the Berthoud Fire Protection District in battling the blaze. A Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) has been ordered, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
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The cause and origin of the 8e Fire were under investigation by the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Kimble said.
Residents looking for updates were urged to text LCEVAC to 888777.
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