Crews Battling Galena Fire Face Gusty Winds
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - Gusty winds could hinder firefighters' efforts to contain a wildfire that has scorched up to 1,000 acres in the foothills west of Fort Collins.
Calm weather Saturday allowed crews to make significant progress, but the National Weather Service says Sunday could bring warmer temperatures and wind gusts of up to 44 mph.
The fire reported Friday morning forced hundreds of residents from their homes. All evacuees were allowed to return home Saturday night, but they have been told to remain prepared to leave again.
The blaze is burning west of Horsetooth Reservoir, near the scene of a large wildfire last summer that burned 259 homes and killed one person. No injuries have been reported and no structures have been damaged in the latest fire, which is 45 percent contained.
PHOTO GALLERY: Galena Fire
Officials say the fire was human caused. It started near the entrance to Lory State Park.
"Our Poudre Fire Authority investigators, they determined cause and origin and have determined pretty precisely where that is. They're still trying to nail down the cause," Poudre Fire Authority Chief Tom DeMint said. "It was not a controlled burn, it was not an illegal burn, it wasn't a slash-pile burn. It wasn't anybody burning on purpose."
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