A wildfire in northeast Colorado that burned 32,564 acres over a wide swath of Logan and Phillips counties was fully contained Wednesday afternoon.
At least four homes were destroyed in the blaze, which ignited on Monday morning, and several others damaged. Authorities previously said as many as five homes were destroyed.
The Phillips County Office of Emergency Management also says about 200 cattle died in the fire, which burned across an area that holds many ranches and farms.
Photos from MMA flight over the #LoganCountyWildfire #NECOFire this morning. pic.twitter.com/C1KtoJKPE5
— Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control (@COStateFire) March 8, 2017
“There are still hot spots within the fire site and crews will continue to monitor,” the emergency management office said in a news release Wednesday evening. “The incident is expected to return to local jurisdiction (by Wednesday night), with the out-of-area firefighter response efforts complete.”
An untold number of outbuildings were also destroyed in the blaze.
“It’s pretty devastating to a lot of the farmers and ranchers,” Phillips County Commissioner Joe Kinni said Tuesday. “The economic damage to this county is going to be phenomenal.”
Officials say a disaster assistance center is slated to be set up in Logan County next week to offer assistance to those impacted by the fire, though details of the operation have yet to be released.
The fire began around 11:30 a.m. Monday northeast of Sterling, near the Logan County town of Proctor. Within eight hours, the fire had raced 23 miles across Interstate 76 into Phillips County, toward Haxtun. Haxtun is about 150 miles northeast of Denver.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is aiding local law enforcement to determine the fire’s cause. One firefighter suffered a minor injury because of blowing debris.
Officials have credited local farmers and volunteer firefighters with helping halt the massive fire.
The eastern half of Colorado is experiencing drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which tracks conditions weekly.
Those conditions made the battle tough, demanding the services of 120 firefighters and equipment from 15 departments, many from metro Denver communities, as flames reached 7 feet high Monday night.
The Associated Press reports that large wildfires are also burning across Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and have left several people dead.
The Colorado Farm Bureau Foundation has activated its Disaster Relief Fund in response to the fire in Logan and Phillips counties.
Donations can be made online or by mail to Colorado Farm Bureau Foundation, Attn: Disaster Fund, 9177 E. Mineral Circle, Centennial, CO 80112.
