Grassland fire near I-70 in Lawson prompts evacuation order

DENVER (KDVR) — A grassland fire was burning near Lawson on Friday, prompting an evacuation order for some nearby residences. The order was lifted at about 6:45 p.m.

Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order for the Western Inn Trailer Court, Jeffcom 911 said in a post at 2:43 p.m. At 5:45 p.m., the sheriff’s office said an additional five homes were evacuated in the Hidden Valley residential area near the Western Inn Fire.

FOX31’s Greg Nieto learned that 96 residents were told to evacuate from the fire. As of 7 p.m., crews were pulling back and letting the rain extinguish hot spots while monitoring.

The fire was reported at about 2:45 p.m. by the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, which said it was on the scene of the fire in the 2600 block of County Road 308.

The sheriff’s office also said there were three fires in the area, leading to some confusing information from first responder agencies. Two of the fires were small and put out by 5:20 p.m. The last one had grown to five acres by the same time and was 25% contained.

At 5 p.m., the Colorado State Patrol Golden reported that semitruck drivers were no longer permitted in Georgetown. That meant commercial drivers heading west on U.S. 40 would use Interstate 70 to Highway 9 on exit 205, and then head north to Kremmling. It’s unclear if that restriction is still in place, as Highway 40 reopened at 5:45 p.m.

As of 3:50 p.m., helicopters were dumping water on the fire , but a rainstorm came through the area, and air operations were completed at about 5:50 p.m., according to CSP. Clear Creek County said crews with the Evergreen Fire Protection District, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Georgetown Police Department were at the scene.

Smoke from the fire was visible on Interstate 70 near mile marker 232. FOX31’s Nicole Fierro was in the area and sent images of the fires.

The smoke could also be seen on several Colorado Department of Transportation cameras in the area.

Officials asked the public to avoid the area of the Western Inn Fire as crews worked to extinguish it.

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