Authorities in Loveland, Colorado confirmed that a person lost their life in one of the many wildfires posing a threat to heavily populated areas in the Colorado foothills. As of Wednesday, nearly 100 large blazes were burning across the western U.S.
The fatality occurred in a fire near Lyons that had burned approximately two square miles by Wednesday afternoon. The Boulder County Sheriff, Curtis Johnson, stated that the remains were found at one of the five homes that were destroyed in the fire.
Detectives are assisting with the investigation into the death, but further details were not provided by Johnson.
The Stone Canyon Fire, located near Lyons, was not growing as of Wednesday and was listed as zero percent contained in a federal wildfire report. At least 150 personnel were working to contain the blaze.
Multiple large fires were burning in Colorado’s Front Range, a densely populated area along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains that includes Denver.
In the Denver metro area, a fire near Conifer prompted evacuation orders for around 575 houses from several subdivisions. Despite being less than one square mile in size as of midday Wednesday, the fire was expected to grow with temperatures forecasted to reach nearly 100 degrees.
Another significant fire was burning west of Loveland, where rural residents had been under evacuation orders since Monday.
To combat the fire near Loveland, a plane was dropping fire retardant and helicopters were dropping water from a nearby reservoir. The terrain of the area was described as steep and treacherous, making it challenging to fight the flames on the ground.
Hot, dry weather and gusty winds were expected to elevate the fire danger across the Front Range on Wednesday. However, light winds in the coming days were forecasted to assist in controlling the blazes.
The Colorado National Guard was activated to help with the fires, which Governor Jared Polis stated were expected to continue for weeks. This marked the first time the guard had been mobilized in such a manner since a fire in December 2021 that affected the suburbs between Denver and Boulder.
Nationwide, nearly 28,000 firefighters were battling 95 large fires, with almost 7,000 square miles burned so far this year. Evacuation orders were in place for more than two dozen fires.
Elsewhere, fires in southeastern Wyoming led to evacuations in small communities like Hartville and Pleasant Valley. Governor Mark Gordon reported that the fires had grown to about 47 square miles by Wednesday morning.
In Northern California, the Park Fire had scorched 609 square miles and continued to threaten structures. The blaze was believed to have been started by a man who pushed a burning car down a ravine in Chico last week. The suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, was charged with arson.
Firefighters in Southern California made progress on fires in the Sequoia National Forest, which led to evacuations in two counties. Another fire, the Borel Fire, had swept through the historic town of Havilah.
Larger fires were also burning in states like Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Montana.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana, Rodriguez reported from San Francisco, and Slevin reported from Denver.
