East Troublesome Fire Devastates Northern Colorado As It Rages Out of Control

Loveland, Colorado— — By Daniel Ford

Colorado firefighters are working in pitch-black conditions in mid-afternoon.

Smoke was so thick it obscured the sky as a crew approached the East Troublesome Fire, Colorado’s second-largest wildfire in its history.

The fire has devastated the area of Loveland in Larimer County. 

The increased activity of the blaze prompted evacuations in the area of Estes Park and the surrounding Estes Valley on Thursday, Oct. 22.

“Loveland engine driving up to Estes Park on Highway 34 at 2:38 p.m. for the East Troublesome Fire,” the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority said while sharing footage of the fire on Twitter. In the video, a fireman explains how the mountain road is enveloped in eerie darkness despite the daytime hour.

Earlier in the day, firefighters managed to contain much of the Cameron Peak Fire, the state’s largest wildfire, which ignited on August 13.

However, the East Troublesome Fire saw significant overnight growth on Thursday.

The Cameron Peak Fire remained at 206,977 acres of burned land on Thursday morning and an increased containment of 57%.

The East Troublesome fire increased six times between Wednesday and Thursday this week. The fire was estimated on Wednesday night to be around 19,086 acres with 10% containment. By Thursday morning, it had increased to 125,602 acres with only 5% containment.

By Thursday evening, the blaze had spread to 170,000 acres. The fire is only around 30,000 acres smaller than the Cameron Peak Fire.

Between them, both wildfires have destroyed over 370,000 acres of land in northern Colorado.

(Edited by Fern Siegel and Carlin Becker)