All Evacuation Orders To Be Lifted For Elephant Butte Fire
EVERGREEN, Colo. (CBS4) - The Elephant Butte Fire burning in Evergreen is now 25% contained. Authorities made the announcement early Tuesday afternoon and said the burn area covers 50 acres. No one has been injured and no structures have burned.
Just before 4 p.m., the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced some evacuations would be lifted at 5p.m. Heavy rain since then allowed officials to lift all evacuations as of 7 p.m.
"I just feel like we're winning. I just cheer on the team. These guys are incredible. Definitely professionals," said Shannon Delany.
She lives nearby and her parents have been evacuated. The roadblocks left residents anxious to see their homes.
"Being in this part of Evergreen on Upper Bear Creek has always been a dream of ours," evacuee Richard Audsley told CBS4 on Tuesday. "And so I thought it was worth the risk, now I'm starting to question whether or not it really is."
Colorado firefighters said on Tuesday morning that they were hoping to make the most of the cooler weather conditions to try to get the wildfire under control.
Rick Sousa, another evacuee told CBS4's Rick Sallinger, "With the weather conditions and equipment they have here I think they will get it under control for tonight."
Firefighters have been heavily relying heavily on air support since the fire broke out on Monday in Jefferson County because the steep, rocky terrain is so difficult to work with. It is burning on Upper Bear Creek Road west of the Evergreen Golf Course, and started at at 2:45 p.m.
Evergreen Middle School is reopening Tuesday morning as an evacuation center if if any evacuees need a place to go.
Their goal is to get the fire contained quickly because hotter temperatures are on the way in the next couple of days.
"We're thinking today with the temperatures being a little lower, there's more humidity in the air, that we'll really be able to attack it hard," said Evergreen Fire Rescue spokeswoman Stacee Martin.
The thermometer is only expected to climb to between 72 and 78 degrees in Evergreen on Tuesday.
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Large animals and livestock can be taken to the county fairgrounds. Pets can be taken to the Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden.
The Evergreen Lake House is closed as it is being used as a command center for firefighters. Jeffco Open Space also closed the Alderfer/Three Sisters Park because of the fire.
It's not clear so far how the fire started.
Jefferson County is currently under a stage 2 fire ban. The ban, which applies to all land in Jefferson County, prohibits recreational fires, fireworks, shooting tracer rounds and open burning including bonfires that require a permit.
"This is just a good reminder as to why we're in that fire ban -- we're trying to prevent these sort of fires so please adhere to that," said Jefferson County Sheriff's spokesman Mike Taplin.
For more information on the fire restrictions in the county, go to jeffco.us/511/Fire-Restrictions-Bans.
