LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) - The Cameron Peak Fire burning in northern Colorado has surpassed the Pine Gulch Fire to become the largest wildfire in state history. As of Friday morning, the fire stands at 167,153 acres and 56% contained.
Fueled by a perfect storm of fire conditions -- minimal humidity, strong winds with gusts up to 75-80 mph, extremely dry fuels -- the fire gained more than 20,000 acres between the first update Wednesday morning and the last Wednesday night. Until this summer, the Hayman Fire had stood as the state’s largest wildfire for 18 years.
The fire is burning west of Fort Collins and north of Rocky Mountain National Park, though a “finger” of the fire has burned into the park.
The below map shows the fire as it stood Wednesday night. The acreage grew from 158,000 to 164,000 between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but a new map has not been released at the time of this writing.
The explosive growth didn’t start until Labor Day weekend, when in a three-day period the fire went from about 26,000 acres to over 100,000. A rare summer snow event immediately following those three days briefly provided relief, but since then, temperatures have soared and precipitation has been hard to come by.
Despite the challenges thrown at them, firefighters have made steady gains on containment since September. The fire is currently 56 percent contained. No containment was lost Wednesday.
New evacuations have been ordered this week, primarily in recreational communities. A map of all evacuations and pre-evacuations can be viewed here.
A smoke outlook can be seen here. The wildfire has been a leading contributor of the smoke that has plagued the Front Range off and on for the last several weeks.
The top 10 fires in Colorado history are as followed:
Cameron Peak Fire (currently burning, 167,000 acres as of 10/16)
Pine Gulch (2020, 139,007 acres)
Hayman (2002, 137,760 acres)
Spring Creek (2018, 108,045 acres)
High Park (2012, 87,250 acres)
Missionary Ridge (2002, 71,739 acres)
416 Fire (2018, 52,778 acres)
Bridger (2008, 46,612 acres)
Last Chance (2012, 44,000 acres)
117 Fire (42,795 acres)
These fires are largest by acreage, not by property destruction and/or loss of life. The state has a separate ranking for the most destructive wildfires, of which the Black Forest Fire (2013, 14,280 acres) and Waldo Canyon Fire (2012, 18,247 acres) top.
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Cameron Peak Fire becomes the largest wildfire in Colorado history, has burned over 167,000 acres - KKTV
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