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High Park Fire: 65,738 acres, Soldier Canyon & Mill Canyon Evacuations Lifted

Dave Dennis
/
KUNC
A picture of Soldier Canyon, taken on June 11th, the third day of the High Park Fire.

The High Park Fire has grown to 65,738 acres with 55% containment. Fire officials have lifted evacuations for Soldier Canyon and Mill Canyon Estates.

All residents are asked to remain on alert if conditions change, since they may be required to evacuate again.

Residents in areas south of Horsetooth have also been allowed to return home, including Milner Ranch Road to Gindler Ranch. The Larimer County Sherrif’s office says this is not to be confused with the Stratton Park area, which is still under evacuation.

Incident Commander Bill Hahnenberg welcomes today’s cooler weather.

“I’ve talked about being aggressive and patient. We’ve been patient through those red flag conditions, today were going to be aggressive. We have an opportunity with these weather conditions to start getting some lines, some more containment on these key portions of the fire.”

He says having three straight days of Red Flag conditions is unusual for Colorado.

“Our goal is to get everything we can get done in the next few days and then see where we end up Friday and Saturday. You know you have good days and bad days weather wise. We need to take advantage of the good days”

1,911 personnel are working on the fire with a 24-hour work schedule in place. 17 helicopters are assisting ground crews and supporting suppression and any necessary medical evacuation efforts. Emphasis is on structure protection throughout the fire area and is still a high priority.

Update 11:30am

We've added this interactive map of the High Park Fire courtesy of i-cubed in Fort Collins.

View Larger Map

Update 11:40am via the Larimer Sheriff on Twitter

 

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