As of Wednesday, the Spring Fire has burned an estimated 95,739 acres, making the fire the third largest in Colorado history.
The latest acreage estimate means the fire has burned 149.59 square miles, but how big is that?
It’s larger than many U.S. cities.
The Spring Fire is now larger than the city limits of Atlanta (133.15), Philadelphia (134.10), Las Vegas (135.82), Tampa (113.41), Salt Lake City (111.11), Orlando (102.40), and Detroit (138.75) according to U.S. Census data.
It is only several square miles smaller than the city of Denver, which has an area of 153 square miles.
The fire would have to grow about 15,000 more acres to move into second place on the all-time list in Colorado.
These are the five largest wildfires in state history
- The Hayman Fire-137,760 acres
- The West Fork Fire complex-110,405 acres
- The Spring Fire- 95,739 acres and growing
- High Park Fire- 87,284 acres
- Missionary Ridge Fire-71,739 acres
The fire is still listed at 5 percent containment as of Wednesday night. Rain is in the forecast Thursday, which has prompted fresh concerns about flash flooding in burn scar areas.
However, moisture will help immensely in the firefighting effort. Firefighters have faced temperatures in the 90s with high winds and low humidity for much of the firefight.
