1 person killed in Colorado wildfires as blazes torch large areas of the U.S. West

DENVER — (AP) — One person has been killed in a wildfire burning in the Colorado foothills, authorities said Wednesday, as almost 100 large blazes burned across the western U.S.

The death came in a fire north of the town of Lyons that had burned about two square miles (five square kilometers) by Wednesday morning, said Carrie Haverfield, a spokesperson for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.

The human remains were discovered in one of as many as five homes that burned in a fire north of Lyons, Colorado, Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said. He said detectives were assisting the investigation into the death but declined to provide further details

The Stone Canyon Fire was listed as zero percent contained on a federal wildfire report Wednesday that said 150 personnel were battling the blaze.

It was one of several large fires burning on Colorado's Front Range, a densely populated corridor along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains that includes Denver.

A fire at the edge of the Denver metro area west of the small town of Conifer triggered the evacuation of about 575 houses from several subdivisions overnight Tuesday. That fire was less than one square mile (2.5 square kilometers) as of midday Wednesday but was expected to grow with temperatures forecast to reach nearly 100 degrees (38 Celsius).

An airplane was dropping fire retardant and four helicopters were dropping water from a nearby reservoir on that fire, trying to keep it from spreading. The fire was burning in open land in steep terrain, making it hard to fight the flames on the ground, Mark Techmeyer, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.

“Every neighborhood in this facility is at risk. This fire is not an easy fight. The terrain is treacherous. It is very steep,” he said.

Hot weather and localized wind gusts of up to 30 mph (50 kph) were expected across the Front Range on Wednesday, elevating the fire danger, government forecasters said. The hot temperatures were expected to continue into early next week but winds were forecast to remain light in coming days, which would make it easier to control blazes and to prevent new ignitions from growing into larger fires.

Across the U.S. almost 28,000 firefighters were battling 95 large fires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Almost 7,000 square miles (18,000 square kilometers) have burned nationwide so far this year. That's an area nearly the size of the state of New Jersey and is well above the 10-year average for this time of year.

Evacuation orders were in effect for more than two dozen fires.

Fires burning in southeastern Wyoming triggered evacuations in Hartville, which has about 65 people, and the unincorporated community of Pleasant Valley. Helicopters and heavy tankers were being used again the fires that had grown to about 47 square miles (120 square kilometers) by Wednesday morning, Gov. Mark Gordon said in a social media post.

In Northern California, the massive Park Fire has scorched 609 square miles (1,577 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The blaze started in Butte County last week after authorities say a man pushed a burning car down a ravine in the city of Chico. That fire has destroyed 361 structures and is threatening thousands more. The suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, was charged with arson on Monday. His public defender, Nicole Diamond, said in an email that she had no comment.

Some progress against the fire was made after a bout of cooler temperatures, more humidity and calmer winds in the last few days.

In Southern California, firefighters made progress on fires sweeping through the Sequoia National Forest that led to evacuations in Kern and Tulare counties.

One of the blazes, the Borel Fire, scorched through almost the entirety of the historic mining town of Havilah, officials said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the town of 250 people on Tuesday.

The fires burning throughout the state have overwhelmed California’s firefighting capacity and outside help has begun to arrive, officials said. Newsom thanked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday for sending more than two dozen fire engines to help combat the Park Fire this week.

Large fires were also burning in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Montana and other states.

__

Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Olga Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.