GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — Residents in Grand Lake were told to evacuate late Wednesday night as the East Troublesome Fire continued to move quickly east and toward the town.
These areas are also currently under mandatory evacuation orders:
- All areas west of Highway 34
- All areas north of milepost 2 on Highway 34 to Rocky Mountain National Park
- Trail Creek subdivision - Area I
- Both sides of Hwy 125 from milepost 5 to the Grand/Jackson line
- Sheriff Creek / Kinney Creek area
See a map of the current evacuation and pre-evacuation areas here and the latest evacuation alerts are listed here.
The west side of Rocky Mountain National Park is also closed due to significant fire activity.
The East Troublesome Fire grew to estimated 24,700-plus acres Wednesday afternoon as firefighters and officials look to Sunday's snowstorm for more relief, said fire officials in a live Facebook update. Officials said they will not have an updated acreage to include Wednesday night's significant growth until they are able to fly the area Thursday morning.
With only 10% containment, residents around the fire's location reported a lot of smoke and fire officials said they will see more in the coming days in containing the fire.
An evacuation center was set up at the Inn at Silver Creek in Granby. Anyone forced to evacuate was asked to register using East Troublesome Fire Evacuee(s) Registration Form to assist with the re-entry process, the GCSO said.
Both US 34 between Meadow Road and Golf Course Road and US 40 between Nevada St and US 34 are closed in the area due to fire activity.
The Colorado Department of Emergency Management announced on Saturday that a Fire Management Assistance Grant has been approved, allowing the Federal Office of Emergency Management (FEMA) to provide funding.
The East Troublesome Fire was burning on Arapaho National Forest lands near Grimes Peak, fueled by grasses, sage and lodgepole pine trees, fire officials said. That's north-northwest of Hot Sulphur Springs and northeast of Kremmling.
The cause of the East Troublesome Fire is still being investigated.
On Friday, the U.S. Forest Service announced new closures to public lands, citing "extreme fire behavior."
The closure area includes the southern Troublesome area west of Highway 125 and north to Willow Creek Pass. Also included are public lands in the area east of the Highway 125/US 40 junction to US 34 and north to Grand Lake.
Key trailheads and landmarks in the closure area include: Wheatley, Elk Mountain, Bill Miller, Trail Creek, Willow Creek Pass, Illinois Pass, Stillwater Pass, North Supply, Supply Creek, Idleglen and Willow Creek Reservoir. The Bowen Gulch Protection Area and the southern portion of the Never Summer Wilderness Area are included in the closure.
The East Troublesome Fire is the third wildfire reported in Grand County within the last couple of months.
The Deep Creek Fire, which is now 100% contained, started Oct. 7 and burned 88 acres.
PHOTOS: East Troublesome Fire
Complete wildfire coverage: https://9news.com/wildfires.
Red Cross
If you are an evacuee or someone who has been impacted by the wildfires and needs assistance, call 1-800-417-0495.
To sign up to volunteer, email Joshua.Stewart@redcross.org.
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