Stephanie Butzer joined the Denver7 team as a digital producer in June 2018, became the senior digital producer in February 2023 and as of December 2023, is the team's executive producer.
YUMA COUNTY, Colo. — Emergency personnel are responding to multiple wildfires in Yuma County in far northeast Colorado overnight as strong winds continue across the state. A fire warning is in place for the county with evacuations ordered for anybody who sees an approaching wildfire, the Yuma County Emergency Management said late Wednesday, adding that if you do not see flames, you do not need to evacuate.
As of midnight, three fires remain active, per the Yuma County Sheriff's Office: South of Eckley, near the intersection of County Road N and County Road 32, to the intersection of County Road 27 and County Road W. This is near the Heartstrong neighborhoodCounty Road 44 and County Road Q County Road L and County Road 2 As of about 11 p.m., fires were burning in the following locations, the sheriff's office said. However, all but the three listed above are now contained.County Road 33 and County Road MCounty Road 48 and County Road FCounty Road 385 and County Road 44.5County Road 43 and County Road N County Road 44 and County Road QCounty Road 49 and County Road ZCounty Road 20 and County Road U10 miles west of Wray South of Joes, near County Road L and County Road 2The county's office of emergency management reported around 9:30 p.m. that strong winds would likely cause these fires to rapidly spread.The biggest fire currently is the one burning south of Eckley near the Heartstrong neighborhood. In March 2012, a 24,000-acre wildfire burned in this same area, destroying two homes and injuring three firefighters. Our partners at The Denver Post reported at the end of that month that it was sparked by a downed power line. The exact cause and size of Wednesday evening's fires, and the extent of the damage they have caused, is not known as of 12:45 a.m. as emergency personnel in the small county work to contain the blazes. We are working to confirm those details and will have a crew reporting the latest on Denver7 at 4:30 a.m. and through the morning.Residents in the Joes and Kirk area should evacuate to the Grassroots Center, people in the Wray and Eckley area should evacuate to Wray City Hall, and those in the Yuma area were told to evacuate to Yuma High School, according to the county.'Follow instructions from local authorities and do not delay evacuation if advised. Please drive slowly with your flashers on,' it said. Yuma residents told Denver7 on Wednesday evening that power has been out since 8 p.m. The Yuma County Emergency Management also had a message for farmers: 'If you have a tractor and disk ready to deploy to help with fires please call 970-397-0431 for instructions of where you can help most.'At 11:40 a.m. Thursday, the county had posted online to warn the community about the high risk of a fire. The National Weather Service posted a radar image on social media showing what it believed were smoke plumes, seen in blue below.The NWS is reporting wind gusts up to 80 mph in Yuma County, Kit Carson County and Cheyenne County — all along the Kansas border. Blowing dust is also a hazard in this area, so a warning for that is in place until 2 a.m. Thursday. A red flag warning is in effect for this area on Thursday because 'fires could exhibit explosive growth and be impossible to control,' the NWS said. An air quality health advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Thursday due to the wildfire smoke. This applies to eastern Yuma and Kit Carson counties, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. 'Moderate to heavy smoke is expected in areas downwind of these fires, including along Highway 385 south of Wray and along I-70 near Burlington,' the CDPHE said. This is a developing story and will be updated.Watch Denver7's 24/7 weather stream in the video below.
Colorado Eastern Plains Wildfires Colorado Wildfires Yuma Yuma County Wildfires Yuma County Wildfires Electricity Yuma County Wildfires Evacuations Yuma County Wildfires Grass Yuma County Wildfires Power Lines Yuma County Wildfires Wind
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