Wildfire 5% contained in Teller County, strong winds expected Tuesday afternoon

DIVIDE, Colo — Crews are aggressively attacking a wildfire in Teller County ahead of winds expected Tuesday afternoon that could push the growth of the fire that has already burned nearly 100 acres and forced the evacuation of 700 homes.

The Highland Lakes fire is burning northwest of Divide. It’s burning in the area of County Road 51 – Cedar Mountain Road. 

The Teller County Sheriff’s office said the fire started as a structure fire near Beaver Lake Circle in the Highland Lakes area Monday afternoon.

“With low moisture content, high grasses, because we had a really wet spring .. the grasses grew pretty high,” said Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell. “Fire can move very quickly through those dry grasses.”

The fire has burned about 98 acres, and it’s 5% contained thanks to unexpected rain that fell over the area late Monday, according to Mikesell.  Some growth is expected Tuesday as crews deal with winds that are expected to be sustained at roughly 50 mph.

Mikesell said one home had been lost in the fire. No injuries have been reported and no additional structures were lost overnight.

Due to the use of aircraft to fight the fire, the sheriff’s office issued a reminder that flying drones over the area is not allowed. Doing so may cause interference or could result in the cancellation of flights over the fire.

Mikesell said the fire was human-caused.

“I can’t get into the investigation, but we are treating this as a criminal act,” he said.

> Evacuation and pre-evacuation information from the Teller County Sheriff’s Office.

The first evacuations were ordered around 4:30 p.m. Monday and about 700 homes are within the evacuation area. Other homes are in a pre-evacuation zone and should be prepared to leave quickly if necessary.

An evacuation center is open at Woodland Park Community Church at 800 Valley View Drive in Woodland Park.

“We feel good because we have the state of good containment,” Mikesell said. “But really today because of the fire conditions we are going to be very aggressive. I want everybody to know, this is the most aggressive I’ve seen during this time of the year.”

> Video below: Officials provide a Tuesday morning update on the wildfire: 

An emergency Stage 3 Fire Ban has been issued for the entire county. That means absolutely no open burning is allowed. It includes:

• Campfires
• Warming fires
• Charcoal grill fires
• Explosives
• Firing of model rockets
• Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with an open flame
• All outdoor welding and cutting activities with an open flame
• Prescribed burning of fence rows, fields, wild lands, trash and debris
• Use of fireworks

Smoking is also banned except within an enclosed vehicle, trailer, or non-commercial building.

Residents who need to be escorted to their homes to retrieve life-critical medicines should contact Teller County Dispatch at 719-687-9652 to schedule an escort. Those who need to shelter their animals can take their smaller pets to TCRAS or larger animals like horses to the fairgrounds in Cripple Creek.