Estes Valley Fire Protection District responded to a vegetation fire off Cedar Ridge Circle. The fire was reported at 3:15 p.m. and cleared at 5:04 p.m.
US 36/Moraine Avenue was closed westbound at the roundabout and eastbound at Marys Lake Road. Officials asked the public to avoid the area during the fire to give emergency responders the space they needed.
Flames fanned by 50 mph winds and billowing smoke from the fire east of the Estes Park Transfer Station could be seen along Moraine Avenue, and a series of loud popping sounds coming from an area near power transformers were heard.
Interim EVFPD Chief Stacey Sutherland at the scene praised the rapid response from the EVFPD, the Estes Park Police Department, along with mutual aid from the U.S. Park Service, Larimer County, and Glen Haven.
“What you are seeing is how we are trained, how we respond, and how we work with our mutual aid partners. This is who we are,” said Sutherland, who said a water tender truck was on scene.
Sutherland said fortuitously that a training session was taking place today with firefighters at the Estes Valley Fire Academy, which is located immediately adjacent to the vegetation fire.
She said that an immediate priority was to protect the residential structures at Cedar Ridge, a condominium complex to the east of the fire.
Sutherland also noted that despite the federal government shutdown, first responders from the U.S. Park Service were instantly available to assist the EVFPD.
At this time, the cause of the fire has not been determined. Right before the fire was reported, a windstorm with rain clouds blew into the area. Weather conditions overnight are expected to be windy, cloudy, and cold, with temperatures dipping into the 30s and a possible rain and snow mix.
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