Officials Investigate Whether Everyone Got Out Of Evacuation Area

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - The Larimer County Sheriff's office is working on reports of several people who may be missing in the High Park Fire burn area.

More than 1,600 notifications about mandatory evacuations had been made by late Sunday morning as the fire continued to grow.

"We're still investigating the concerns about whether everybody was able to get out of the evacuation area," Larimer County Sheriff's Office Executive Officer Nick Christensen said just before noon on Sunday. "We occasionally have some folks that don't have phones or refused to evacuate and we're looking into that."

Deputies and firefighters went looking for possible missing people at one point on Saturday in one area, but they were stopped in their tracks by dangerous flames at one point.

"Unfortunately I have to report we could not get into all those areas," sheriff's spokesman Justin Smith said on Saturday night. "I was in on the Old Flowers Road keeping watch out while my last firefighter was in there. And he tried to get to a property we were reported may have somebody in it. He had to flee -- the fire was on him."

Christensen said one family contacted his office and said there were hikers in the area where the fire was breaking out on Saturday.

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