Massive Wildfire Still Burning
Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 7:43AM
The massive wildfire in northern Colorado that was probably sparked by lightning on Saturday was still raging Tuesday.
The fast-moving blaze was burning through about half-a-mile of forest per hour and threatening hundreds of homes. It burned dozens of structures Monday.
It's being blamed for one death.
Four hundred firefighters have been battling the blaze from the air and on the ground; that number will soon swell to 600.
While the steep, mountainous terrain appears green, a dry winter and spring have left the moisture level in the trees down to 60 percent. At this time of year, it's usually at 90 percent. The result: Flames are leaping easily from treetop to treetop.
"So, even though that fuel looks green, normally it wouldn't burn at this time of year," says Fire Management Officer Bill Hahnenberg. "It's burning very well, and that's why we're getting this aggressive and active fire behavior that we are."
At least 118 structures have burned.
