Wildfire explodes south of Colorado Springs after breaking containment
Burning along State Highway 115 between Colorado Springs and Penrose, the 24 Fire has rapidly grown in the past 24 hours after breaking containment.
While an early Thursday report noted that the blaze was about 80 acres and 50 percent contained, that changed come afternoon. By 6:15 p.m., the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reported that the fire was estimated to have grown to 670 acres in size with the Colorado Springs Gazette reporting that containment was lost entirely as of late Thursday afternoon. A Friday morning update indicated that the fire had continued its growth, last reported at 1,067 acres and still with no containment.
Dangerous fire conditions are expected on Saturday, with low humidity levels and winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour, per a report from The Gazette’s Nick Smith. A National Weather Service meteorologist was quoted in Smith’s report as calling these conditions a “recipe for large fire growth.”
Per the CoTrip travel map, Highway 115 remains closed from mile marker 21 to mile marker 39 as of a 12:49 p.m. update on March 20.
Updates may be posted to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or the National Interagency Fire Center page.
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