Spring Creek Fire

Spring Creek Fire
The burn scar west of Highway 12.
Location Costilla and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States
Coordinates 37°26′46.24″N 105°10′28.68″W / 37.4461778°N 105.1746333°W / 37.4461778; -105.1746333Coordinates: 37°26′46.24″N 105°10′28.68″W / 37.4461778°N 105.1746333°W / 37.4461778; -105.1746333
Statistics[1]
Date(s) June 27, 2018 (2018-06-27) – September 10, 2018 (2018-09-10)
Burned area 108,045 acres (437 km2)[1]
Cause Human caused
Buildings
destroyed		 140[2]
Perpetrator(s) (alleged) Jesper Joergensen
Map
The fire's location in southern Colorado

The Spring Creek Fire was a wildfire near Fort Garland and La Veta, Colorado in Costilla and Huerfano[3] counties in southern Colorado. The fire burned a total of 108,045 acres (437 square kilometers)[2] and was the third-largest wildfire in Colorado history.[4]

Origin

The Spring Creek Fire started on Wednesday, June 27, 2018 near Fort Garland, Colorado.[5] Jesper Jorgenson, 52, a citizen of Denmark and reported by immigration authorities as being in the United States illegally, has been arrested and faces arson charges for allegedly starting the fire.[3] The blaze was declared 100% contained on September 10, 2018. More than 140 structured were destroyed in the fire.[2]

Evacuations

The Forbes Park neighborhood near Fort Garland was under mandatory evacuations during the fire.[6]

In Huerfano County, mandatory evacuations were ordered for Cuchara, Chama, Red Wing, Malachite, and Badito south of Highway 69. The community of Gardner was placed on "pre-evacuation" for a time.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Spring Creek Fire". InciWeb. US Forest Service. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  2. 1 2 3 Kackley, Tom (2018-09-10). "Spring Fire now officially 100 percent contained". KOAA News 5. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  3. 1 2 Paul, Jesse (2018-07-02). "Spring Creek fire suspect reported blaze and had burn marks as he spoke to authorities, arrest documents say". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  4. ↑ Sevits, Kurt (2017-07-04). "Spring Fire now the 3rd largest in Colorado history at more than 94,000 acres". Denver7 & TheDenverChannel.com. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  5. ↑ Case, Angela (2018-06-29). "Spring Fire grows to 14,424 acres; Highway 160 closed". KXRM. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  6. ↑ "Hundreds Evac Ahead of Fast-Moving CO Blaze". Firehouse. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  7. ↑ "New Mandatory Evacuations Issued In Spring Fire". 4 CBS Denver. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
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