Published: July 11,2016
Two men who reportedly left a poorly extinguished fire at campsite have been arrested in connection with a Colorado wildfire that has burned more than 500 acres in Boulder County and forced residents to evacuate.
Jimmy Andrew Suggs, 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall, 26, both of Vinemont, Ala., were booked into the Boulder County Jail on felony arson charges, the Denver Post reports, because “lives were endangered as a result of the fire.” Boulder County sheriff’s commander Mike Wagner said.
According to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, nearly 2,000 residents have been evacuated as of Sunday afternoon, including Suggs and Kuykendall, who were arrested at the Nederland High School evacuation site.
The Cold Springs Fire has destroyed at least three homes and three buildings north of Nederland in Boulder County, where hot, dry winds whipping down from mountain peaks have hampered containment efforts.
"We're expecting west winds to increase this afternoon," weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said Monday, "gusting up to 40 mph with no chance of rain, but not quite as hot as Sunday."
A dry forecast is "a 'tad' unusual" for this time of year, Erdman said, as afternoon thunderstorms firing over the mountains, then shifting into the Front Range and High Plains are an almost daily occurrence in the summer in Colorado.
The Boulder Office of Emergency Management declared a local disaster declaration as mandatory evacuation orders were issued in the Nederland area. People in another 170 homes in the path of the fire were put on notice to be ready to leave on a moment's notice.
More than 100 firefighters have been moved to battle the blaze, but the fire remains at zero percent containment, according to the Cold Springs Fire’s last update.
Pre-evac notice sent to additional 174 contacts. All in area should be ready to leave at any time. #ColdSpringsFire
In California, some 2,000 Santa Clarita Valley residents have been allowed to return to their homes as firefighters continue to battle a fast-moving wildfire in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains north of Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the so-called Sage fire, the LA County Fire PIO reports, but as of late Sunday evening, the blaze was nearly half contained.
The blaze was sparked in the Stevenson Ranch area, about 35 miles north of Los Angeles, around noon local time on Saturday before quickly growing to 1.25 square miles in just hours, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said, prompting evacuations.
(More: Alberta Wildfires Were Costliest Disaster in Canadian History)
(L.A. County Fire Department Public Info Desk)
Over 700 firefighters have been deployed to fight the blaze with help from water-dropping aircraft as they attempted to create a perimeter around threatened homes.
"We are having to battle with Mother Nature," said fire Captain Roland Sprewell. "The winds are blowing and the terrain is challenging. The firefighters are in dense, heavy brush, and after a five-year drought, all this vegetation is prime and ready to burn."
Wind gusts in the area were recorded around 25 mph, aiding the fire’s explosive growth.
Before nightfall Saturday, firefighters were able to contain around 15 percent of the fire, which was becoming dangerously close to Interstate 5.
"The flames were jumping in circles around our house," said Victor Roman.
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Widespread Fire Danger in the West into Monday
The potential for the spreading of existing and any new wildfires will remain high across much of the West into Monday.
The strong winds will keep wildfire danger high from portions of Arizona and New Mexico to Colorado, Wyoming and the High Plains of South Dakota and Nebraska.
This is due to gusty winds impacting a large part of the region from a potent southward dip in the jet stream moving across the Northwest.
As a result, the National Weather Service has posted red flag warnings and fire weather watches for the fire danger in parts of many states, from the High Plains of South Dakota westward through the Rockies to Southern California.
Fire Weather Alerts
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