United States - July 31, 2024

The Alexander Mountain Fire in Northern Colorado grew significantly on Tuesday and at 7:30 p.m. was listed at 5,080 acres. The wildfire in Larimer County has now been given national priority among the agencies working to battle the fire. New mandatory evacuations were ordered for the Masonville area and Glade Road from Highway 34 to Indian Creek.

The chair of the Larimer County Board of Commissioners declared a disaster emergency on Tuesday afternoon for the fire, which is currently within 10 miles of the eastern edge of the city of Loveland.

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

Colorado's governor then followed suit with a statewide disaster declaration for wildfires including the Alexander Mountain Fire.

A new wildfire also started on Tuesday afternoon 8 miles south of the Alexander Mountain Fire burn area. It's called the Stone Canyon Fire and is located north of Lyons. At least two homes have burned in that fire. The northern edge of the evacuation zone for the Stone Canyon Fire now touches the southern edge of the evacuation zone for the Alexander Mountain Fire.

[Credit: Twitter/BrianZahnd]