Get real-time updates on the Alexander Mountain Fire, Quarry Fire and Stone Canyon Fire from The Denver Gazette staff. Refresh for updates.

Click to jump to a fire: Alexander Mountain fire | Quarry fire | Stone Canyon fire

5:45 p.m. –  Rick Tillery, spokesperson for Mountain View Fire rescue, said the newer Lake Shore Fire, which started around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, has scorched through six acres and has impacted two structures.

The fire is located near Lake Shore Park Road in the Mountain View Fire District, by the northeast corner of Gross Reservoir in the Lake Shore area.

Flagstaff Road is closed at its base, but is open for drivers leaving the area and for fire apparatuses.

“The fire danger right now is still very very high,” Tillery said. “Any kind of a spark can create a fire that can spread pretty quickly when the relative humidity is quite low.”

Authorities are speaking with two people allegedly involved in the fire believed to be human-caused, and was accidental, according to Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson.

“Unfortunately, we are meeting again to talk about another fire start in Boulder County today,” Johnson said, while joining the Mountain View Fire rescue’s news conference.

The Sheriff said the Lake Shore Fire started at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

A Type 2 helicopter is pouring water on the fire, which is taking water from Gross Reservoir, and dumping it on the flames.

“We are hopeful we can keep it at five to six acres, and get it knocked down today,” said Johnson. “My staff on-scene feel comfortable where we are at now.”

4:30 p.m. – Voluntary evacuations are ordered for people in Glen Haven, west towards Dark Mountain, surrounding the Alexander Mountain Fire, Larimer County Sheriff’s said.

4:15 p.m. – An evacuation point has been set for the new Lake Shore Fire, by the northeast corner of Gross Reservoir in the Lake Shore area. Evacuations have been ordered in the area and Flagstaff Road has been closed.

The western evacuation boundary is now set just west of County Line Road 7.

Boulder OEM officials said the Lake Shore Fire evacuation point is located at 1333 Iris Avenue in North Boulder.

People impacted by Lake Shore Fire can take large animals and livestock to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds at 15200 W. 6th Avenue, Golden, officials said.

Boulder officials plan to hold a Lake Shore Fire news conference at 5:45 p.m.

4 p.m. – The Quarry fire has burned 341 acres and is at zero per cent containment. No homes have been lost and no injuries reported. 

3 p.m. – Another fire has been reported in Boulder County by the northeast corner of Gross Reservoir in the Lakeshore area. Evacuations have been ordered in the area and Flagstaff Road has been closed. 

2:45 p.m. – Just a few miles from the Alexander Mountain Fire — continuously raging and spreading eastward — Gov. Jared Polis spoke with the media, noting that the Colorado National Guard was contacted this morning to assist with the ongoing fires.

“We’re taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to deal with the number of fires across the state of Colorado,” Polis said. “Alexander Mountain and Stone Canyon both transferred authority at midnight to become state fires.”

The National Guard will not work as firefighters, Polis added, but will be able to take additional support positions, complete road closures, add logistics and free up work for other first responders.

The guard will be in the area by Wednesday afternoon.

Polis also noted that following his declaration of a disaster emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has agreed to cover 75% of the cost for the fire fight, with a potential 100% incoming after determinations.

While the Alexander Mountain fire, which began on Monday, was right behind Polis during his conference, he spoke of all three of the significant fires currently occurring throughout the region.

The Stone Canyon fire sits at 1,580 acres, as of 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Alexander Mountain fire sits around 6,781 acres. The Quarry fire in Jefferson County, which has destroyed an estimated five structures and left one person dead, continues around 150 acres.

Both the Stone Canyon and Alexander Mountain have remained uncontained, both maintaining 0% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

“The fact that Colorado is no stranger to wildfires doesn’t make the last 96 hours any less jarring,” Colorado Congressman Rep. Joe Neguse said, noting the great cooperation between multiple fire departments and agencies to help battle the fires into Wednesday.

Collaboration is the word of the day, he noted.

Along with the 250 firefighters on the ground at the Alexander Mountain fire, stretching multiple departments, aircraft and helicopters have been fighting the fire to prevent flames from reaching populated areas and structures. Two “scooper” planes have come from Wyoming to assist today, taking water directly from nearby sources to dump on flames.

Regardless of the work, Polis said the fire is likely to last weeks, or months, due to the weather and wooded area on Alexander Mountain.

“Our biggest concerns over the next few days are the community of Cedar Park and the potential for the fire to spot over Highway 34,” Incident Commander Mike Smith of the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday. “We are doing as much as we can in this limited-resource environment to protect these communities, but our number-one priority is human life.”

The scarcest resource, for all three of the fires, is ground crews, according to Colorado Public Safety Director Stan Hilkey. The state is trying to get backup from out of the state, but with other western fires, like the ones currently raging in Oregon, groundcrews have been spread across the country. Some of Colorado’s firefighting crews, for example, left the state prior to the current fires to assist other states.

While the current resources are not “severely impacting” the current situation, it could be better, according to Hilkey.

“We support that mobile mission of helping our partners because our partners help us,” Hilkey said. “But I also think that as opportunity arises, and with the weather patterns that we have the rest of the summer, I’d feel a lot more comfortable if we had some of those resources back.”

2:20 pm

Though some flames in the Quarry fire near Deer Creek Canyon are getting close to homes, there have been none lost and no injuries as thousands of gallons of water are being dumped into the canyon.

1:45 p.m. – The story at the Quarry fire is that it’s been challenging to fight from the ground because of how deep the canyon is. Instead, crews are fighting it from the air. They were very happy because they got the OK for four helicopters and a couple of planes this morning, including one monster VLAT (Very Large Air Tanker) that holds 10,000 gallons at a time.

Jefferson County Sheriff spokesperson Mark Techmeyer said that it’s too early to know what started the Quarry Fire but: “any time you see a small fire at 9 a.m. in open space, you have to scratch your head a little bit.” 

Helicopters and firefighting planes were seen filling up at Chatfield Reservoir and then flying to fight the fire. Along the road in front of the State Park, people were parking and taking videos of the air firefighting action.

2:30 p.m. – Garrison Schulte is the general manager of the Lyons Farmette located in between Nolan Road and Stone Canyon Road, both shut down as crews continue to fight the Stone Canyon wildfire. At first, he was watching the Alexander Mountain Fire cautiously, as it was relatively close as the crow flies to Lyons, but after a friend texted him about a new fire burning much closer, Schulte knew it was time to start preparing to evacuate and hours later got the official order.

They spent the night in Longmont and woke to relatively good news.

“We got lucky last night, even though the winds shifted directions overnight… The fact that the fire didn’t move with that wind was really lucky and it stayed at the same size, so to wake up to that news was great,” he said. “I’m not saying we’re out of the woods yet, because all it takes is a strong gust or an ember to move to another area and it could light back up.”

2 p.m. – The Stone Canyon Fire has grown by a few hundred acres, reaching 1,548 acres and 0% containment, according to an update from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. 

Over 120 firefighters are on the ground with 37 trucks and air support will continue into the afternoon. 

Alexander Mountain fire in Larimer County

9:30 a.m. – The Alexander Mountain fire, which began on Monday, has now reached around 5,080 acres with 0% containment, according to an update from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office around 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The sheriff’s office has not given estimated size numbers as of Wednesday morning.

The Chair of the Larimer County Board of Commissioners declared a disaster emergency for the county on Tuesday.

“By declaring a disaster, Larimer County can activate our local Emergency Operations Plan to respond proactively to this ongoing event,” Lori Hodges, director of the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management, said in a news release. “It also allows us to access local disaster policies as well as state and federal resources as needed during this event.”

The raging fire, which is spreading north, west and east into areas like Sylvan Dale Ranch and Big Thompson Canyon, is still causing trouble for the 270 firefighters on the ground.

The departments battling the fires are expecting resources, like a complex incident management team, to arrive for support Wednesday.

As of Tuesday night, 3,245 citizens have been moved via mandatory evacuations. More than 820 have been informed of voluntary evacuations.

These mandatory areas include:

• Drake to Dam Store along Highway 34, including Storm Mountain and Palisade Mountain.

• The area of Waltonia Road, Eden Valley to Sunrise Ranch, and Sylvan Dale to Ellis Ranch.

• County Road 18E from Pole Hill to Pinewood Reservoir.

• Masonville area and Glade Road from Highway 34 to Indian Creek.

• County Road 43 from Drake to just west of Old Bridge Road.

• North side of Carter Lake, north to Highway 34.

Those evacuating can still report to the evacuation centers, run by the Red Cross, at the Foundation Church in Loveland and the Estes Park Event Complex in Estes Park, surrounding both sides of the fire raging off of Highway 34. Both sites are providing shelter, food, information and other resources for those forced to evacuate their homes.

Click to jump to a fire: Alexander Mountain fire | Quarry fire | Stone Canyon fire

Quarry fire in Jefferson County

2:20 pm

Though several fires are getting close to homes, there have been none lost and no injuries as thousands of gallons of water are being dumped into the canyon.

1:45 p.m. – The story at the Quarry fire is that it’s been challenging to fight from the ground because of how deep the canyon is. Instead, crews are fighting it from the air. They were very happy because they got the OK for four helicopters and a couple of planes this morning, including one monster VLAT (Very Large Air Tanker) that holds 10,000 gallons at a time.

Jefferson County Sheriff spokesperson Mark Techmeyer said that it’s too early to know what started the Quarry Fire but , “any time you see a small fire at 9 am in open space, you have to scratch your head a little bit.” 

Helicopters and firefighting planes were seen filling up at Chatfield Reservoir and then flying to fight the fire. Along the road in front of the State Park, people were parking and taking videos of the air firefighting action.

10 a.m. – Denver has deployed a “strike team” to help fight the Quarry fire. The strike team consists of 22 personnel and five engines. Each engine has four firefighters, and the department is sending a chief and a liaison as well. 

The Quarry fire had grown to 200 acres at last check, up from 120 acres at 2 a.m.

9:55 a.m. – Denver Botanic Gardens announced on Instagram that its Chatfield Farms location in Littleton is temporarily closed due to the Quarry fire. 

“There is no immediate danger to the property, but we are monitoring the situation,” the post said.

9:30 a.m. – The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said this fire started last night as a 10-by-10-foot spot fire reported by a deputy and grew to 100 acres in an hour. As of 2 a.m., the fire had grown to 130 acres with five subdivisions under mandatory evacuation and another two under a pre-evacuation notice. 

So far, 575 homes are under the mandatory evacuation the Deer Creek Mesa, Sampson, Maxwell, Murphy and McKinney subdivisions. JeffCo deputies knocked on people’s doors at 2 a.m. as the fire crept closer. Jefferson County spokesperson Mark Techmeyer said that a helicopter is flying over the area to reassess how fast the fire is growing and the direction it is traveling. 

“Last night, scrub oaks were flaming 30-50 feet high. You don’t normally see that in a fire like this,” Techmeyer said. He also warned that besides the obvious dangers firefighters face is the possibility of rattlesnake bites. 

Road closures include South Valley Road to the south, Deer Creek at West Ranch Trail, and Deer Creek Canyon. 

Under pre-evacuation are the subdivisions of Silver Ranch and Silver Ranch South. 

At this time, 12 fire agencies are working the fire, which includes 70-80 troops, Techmeyer said, adding that resources are thin due to the two other major fires in the state. 

He said that the Quarry Fire is not moving toward Lockheed Martin, but said JeffCo officials are watching the area closely. Dakota Ridge High School is taking evacuees, but most people are staying with friends and only 15 people stayed overnight with their small animals, Techmeyer said. 

Click to jump to a fire: Alexander Mountain fire | Quarry fire | Stone Canyon fire

Stone Canyon fire in Boulder County

1:45 p.m. – The Boulder County Office of Emergency Management report that the Stone Canyon Fire has reached 1,548 acres, with 0% containment.

Officials say damage remains at five structures, with one reported dead body found inside a burnt building.

10 a.m. – Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson confirmed first responders found human remains in one of the burned structures hit by the Stone Canyon wildfire. He added the department does not expect any further evacuations today.

“We do believe we have approximately five structures that have been impacted by the fire, but we’re still in the process of trying to figure out exactly what things look like in the most impacted areas of the fire,” Johnson said. “I can confirm to you that we do have one fatality associated with this fire. Not going to provide any more details because that’s an active investigation that our detectives along with fire investigators will be conducting throughout the day.”

Firefighters didn’t see much growth in the fire overnight, despite worries about less than favorable weather conditions, including high winds, Johnson said. Focus has been on the west and south sides of the fire closest to the Lyons, and Johnson said they expect the wind Wednesday to keep pushing the fire northeast, where the fire is currently most active, a release from Lyons said.

Johnson added he is not aware of any other missing person reports as a result of the Stone Canyon fire.

Most of the north side of town remains closed, but an evacuation order for West Lyons has been lifted, and closures from Broadway north to city limits are being lifted as well.

Officials are working to get people in the lifted evacuation zones back home Wednesday, but it could take some time, according to Johnson.

Law enforcement has established a tip line as the investigation into the fire’s cause is underway. Anyone with tips on how the fire may have started is urged to call (303) 441-3674.

9:05 a.m. – The Stone Canyon Fire is estimated to have burned 1,320 acres northeast of Lyons, but did not grow significantly overnight, according to the latest update from the Boulder Office of Disaster Management.

Boulder emergency officials said aircraft will be called upon again Wednesday to battle the fire with retardant and water. Crews plan to assess possible structure losses in the burn area when it’s safe to do so.

Several mandatory evacuations are in effect (see map below). An overnight shelter has been set up at Foundation Church at 1380 N. Denver St. in Loveland. 

Click to jump to a fire: Alexander Mountain fire | Quarry fire | Stone Canyon fire