According to Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, speaking during a community meeting Monday afternoon, the fire is now moving east but that could change by Tuesday.
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Two men from Alabama have been arrested in Colorado on arson charges accusing them of leaving a campfire unattended, igniting a blaze that destroyed five homes and forced the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents, authorities said on Monday.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said evacuations won’t be lifted because of the weather forecast, with hot weather and high winds making it too risky. Suggs and another man from Alabama have been arrested in connection with a wildfire that has destroyed three homes and three buildings north of Nederland in Boulder County.
A plane spreads flame retardant as they battle the Cold Springs Fire near Nederland, Colo. on Sunday, July 10, 2016.
Jimmy Andrew Suggs, 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall, 26, of Vinemont, Alabama, were arrested at an evacuation site “for their role in the start of the Cold Springs Fire”, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Tom Bender, who was driving past the burn area on Saturday, captured video of the suspects as they were walking along the side of the road and jokingly accused them of being the ones who started the fire. Court documents say Suggs told deputies they had not used dirt to put out their wildfire and only covered it with rocks.
Strong winds will keep the wildfire danger high across the West Sunday into Monday.
The incident commander of the fire said better mapping has given them a more accurate picture of the size of the fire.
In Utah, crews spotted an unauthorized drone over a southern Utah wildfire for the fifth time since it ignited almost a month ago, stirring fears that firefighting aircraft could be at risk of a collision. At least three homes have been wrecked by the fire, the office said. This allowed the campfire to continue to smolder as hot, dry winds blew through the area.
Overnight humidity is expected to slow the fire’s growth and reduce its intensity, officials said.
Officials said late Sunday that the blaze in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains was 65 percent contained after consuming about 1.7 square miles of thick chaparral. Four homes and a couple of outbuildings have been destroyed, but there have been no injuries or deaths.
Read the arrest report here.
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A pair of wildfires burning in both California and Colorado have forced evacuations and left one firefighter injured Saturday evening, burning a combined 1,000 acres.
