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Wildland fire burning north of Lyons fully contained

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said residents who were under mandatory evacuation can return to their homes and are under no restrictions.

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — A wildland fire that forced some residents north of Lyons to evacuate their homes on Friday and Saturday is now fully contained.

Larimer County officials said the 37E Fire is burning off of County Road 37E in the Blue Mountain area, which is about 6 1/2 miles north of Lyons.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said Sunday afternoon the fire is 100% contained. Its size is 114 acres, the sheriff's office said. 

No structures have been lost in the fire. 

The sheriff's office said around noon Sunday that all remaining voluntary evacuations have been lifted, and residents can return home with no restrictions. 

Several trailers were seen going in to evacuate animals from the fire area Friday.

"I was basically creating a water perimeter. I was just running water around the perimeter of the property," said Daniel Sweig, the founder and director at New Earth Sanctuary, which takes care of animals that were put up for auction or didn't have a home. “I could see flames from the top of the hill."

Credit: Kat Newquist
A view of the fire from New Earth Sanctuary as they evacuated their animals.

Sweig's team, with the help of friends, was able to evacuate four horses, three goats and some chickens and take them to another sanctuary in Erie. 

While this was their first time doing an evacuation like this, Sweig acknowledged that it's time to be prepared. 

"Unfortunately I think this is -- this is our new reality. And it doesn't matter what time of year it is," he said.

Credit: Kat Newquist
A view of the fire from New Earth Sanctuary as their animals were evacuated.

The fire prompted the closure of Blue Mountain Road at the intersection of Highway 36 and North 53rd Street at the intersection of Highway 66.

Poudre Valley REA said some power poles were damaged in the fire, causing 437 members to be without electricity. The utility provider said it was working to reroute power and restore electricity to as many members as possible while changing out the damaged poles, and that power had been restored to most of those customers Friday night.  

Steve Pischke, Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Marshal for the Lyons Fire Protection District, said the fire was started by arcing on a loose connector of an electrical line. Molten copper then dropped onto light, flashy fuels like dry grass, igniting the fire.

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