2 Dead From Colorado Wild Fire

The Lower North Fork Fire, which started Monday, has claimed it's second victim. Authorities are not releasing any information on the deaths other than that they occurred. It is thought that they are people who refused evacuation orders.

Sixteen homes have been confirmed lost at this point. So far the fire has claimed over 4,500 acres, and continues to grow. There is no time table yet for containment.

Around 500 firefighters are expected to be fighting the fire by the end of the day. Ground crews have been able to begin suppression efforts from the purely protection roles that they had been stuck with. Hot Shot crews are in route from Utah, South Dakota, and Arizona.

Air crews have joined the fight and are doing what they can, as intermittent winds hamper their efforts. A heavy P2V airplane has been dropping fire retardant over the fire. Two National Guard helicopters, capable of dropping water, are on the way from Buckley Air Force Base.

Evacuations are still in place for nearly 1,000 homes, with many others still told to be ready to get out. The metro area is still under an Air Quality Advisory, and that is not likely to be lifted as long as the fire is still growing.

Jefferson County earlier created a map to show the extent of the fire area, but it has not been updated since 23:00 MDT Monday. It does show evacuation points, and road block locations as well.


View Lower North Fork Wildfire in a larger map