Cameron Peak Fire becomes largest wildfire in Colorado history, growing more than 20,000 acres in a day

https://news.yahoo.com/cameron-peak-fire-becomes-largest-023814523.html

Kevin Lytle, Fort Collins Coloradoan
,USA TODAY•October 14, 2020

The Cameron Peak Fire is now the largest wildfire in Colorado history.

The fire made another big run east Wednesday and was listed at 158,300 acres as of 7:30 p.m. MDT Wednesday. Containment was at 56%.

It has now surpassed another 2020 fire — the Pine Gulch Fire — for the largest in the state’s history. The Pine Gulch Fire near Grand Junction reached 139,007 acres before it was fully contained in late September.

The Cameron Peak Fire has grown more than 20,000 acres over the last day. It started on Aug. 13 on the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests near Cameron Pass and Chambers Lake.

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The Cameron Peak Fire has damaged or destroyed 95 buildings, including 33 homes.

The Hayman Fire of 2002 had been the state's largest wildfire until the Pine Gulch Fire. That blaze, which remains one of the most severe wildfires with respect to burning intensity, according to the U.S. Forest Service, blackened 137,760 acres and destroyed 600 structures near Colorado Springs.

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