LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — Authorities are responding to a wildfire in the area of Blue Mountain north of Lyons, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
All residents on Vision Way, Dakota Ridge Road, Chimney Hollow Road, Moss Rock Drive (including the section in Boulder County), and those south and east of County Road 37E to the Larimer/Boulder county line are under mandatory evacuation orders, the sheriff's office said. The fire is burning about four miles north of Lyons near Vision Way and County Road 37E.
An evacuation warning has been issued for Stone Canyon, Eagle Ridge, and Steamboat Valley north to the Larimer County line, according to Boulder Office of Emergency Management.
There are voluntary evacuations for residents from Chimney Hollow Road east to County Road 31 and north to Sprague.
An evacuation center was set up at LifeBridge Christian Church, located at 10345 Ute Highway in Longmont. It has closed for the evening, according to the Red Cross. Volunteers will remain on standby if further assistance is needed.
The Larimer Humane Society is offering temporary housing and transportation assistance for animals. If you need help, you can call Larimer Humane Society at (970) 226-3647 ext. 7. A large animal evacuation center is available at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, located at 9595 Nelson Road in Longmont. Animals will be accepted until 10 p.m. Anyone who needs help can call the Boulder County Sheriff's Office dispatch at 303-441-4444.
71 N (Blue Mountain Road) at the intersection of Hwy. 36 and N. 53rd Street at the intersection of Hwy 66 are closed due to the fire, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management.
The fire has been called the 37E Fire, according to Berthoud Fire Protection District, which is one of the many agencies responding to the blaze.
As of Friday evening, the fire has burned 300 acres and is zero percent contained, according to the sheriff's office. Crews will continue to work overnight. Roughly 130 personnel from multiple agencies are batting the blaze, and more are on the way, according to the sheriff's office.
Two single-engine air tankers were providing aerial support on the fire as of 4:45 p.m.
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and State Emergency Operations Center are both monitoring the fire to help with resource requests.
Wind gusts in the area were around 15 miles per hour as of 4:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
There is not a red flag warning in that area of far southern Larimer County, but a red flag warning is in effect until 7 p.m. for the northern part of Boulder County because of relative humidity around 15% and winds gusting 20-30 mph.
Just spoke to rep from Boulder Fire. At the moment, winds have died down and fire is "laying down" due to falling temperatures and rising humidity. They have not received any reports of injuries or damaged homes at this time.
— Rob Harris (@robharristv) April 16, 2022
The fire is "laying down" due to falling temperatures and rising humidity, according to Boulder Fire. The department has not received any reports of injuries or damaged homes at this time.
Several power poles were damaged in the fire, according to Poudre Valley REA. Crews are working to reroute power and restore electricity to as many customers as possible while changing out the four damaged poles. As of 8:36 p.m., 17 customers are without power. You can view the outage map here.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality health advisory for parts of southeastern Larimer County and northeastern Boulder County.
To receive updates on evacuations and emergencies in Larimer County, text LCEVAC to 888777 or visit NoCo Alert's website.
This is a developing story and will be updated.