Evacuation orders lifted for Pearl Fire, now 95% contained

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — All evacuation orders related to the Pearl Fire were lifted Saturday afternoon.

NOCO Alert issued an all-clear for the fire evacuations at 4 p.m. and said normal activity in the area of Crystal Lakes could resume.

Both mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders had previously been issued for the wildfire in Larimer County. Sunday evening, the U.S. Forest Service said the fire was 95% contained.

Crews checked the entire perimeter to ensure there was no heat near the control line, the U.S. Forest Service said. At 6 p.m. Monday, the Incident Management Team will give fire management back to Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest.

The agency took over command of the Pearl Fire on Tuesday morning. The wildfire was first reported just after 11 a.m. Monday in the Crystal Lakes area about five miles northwest of Red Feather Lakes.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Forest Service said crews had established hard lines on the eastern side of the fire and were reinforcing them.

Mike Smith, Pearl Fire incident commander, said on Tuesday that multiple aircraft, including helicopters and a scooper, were being used to put water on the fire but added that high winds presented challenges to firefighting efforts.

The sheriff’s office said the fire originated on private property and was human-caused.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said the property where the fire began is the only structure that had been impacted so far. Feyen said his office had identified and spoken to the person who caused the fire but was not releasing details as the investigation was ongoing.