DENVER – The Cameron Peak Fire, the largest in Colorado’s recorded history, damaged or destroyed 469 structures, including 42 primary homes, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
The sheriff’s office said the county’s Damage Assessment Teams had finished assessing all of the structures known to have been damaged in the wildfire over the past two months.
The teams found 469 total structures that were either damaged or destroyed by the fire, which break down as follows:
· 461 total structures were destroyed
· 224 residential structures were destroyed and 4 were damaged – including 42 primary residences
· 220 outbuildings were destroyed and 4 were damaged
· 17 structures at the Shambhala Mountain Center were damaged or destroyed
Much of the damage happened during three major runs the fire made – in early September, late September and mid-October.
Areas in Poudre Canyon south of Highway 14 near Archer’s Poudre River Resort and Monument Gulch burned on Sept. 7 ahead of a major snowstorm.
A run on Sept. 25 and 26 burned areas in Poudre Canyon between the Fish Hatchery and Rustic, along Manhattan Road and near the Boy Scout Ranch Road.
And on Oct. 14, when the fire grew to eh largest in state history and burned 30,000 acres in a day, the fire burned areas along Upper and Lower Buckhorn, Crystal Mountain, Bobcat Ridge, Buckskin Heights, Redstone Canyon, Storm Mountain, The Retreat and Pingree Park.
“As the community comes together to support those who suffered property loss, we stand with them. We feel the pain of being displaced and not having a home to go back to,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said in a statement.
“In the midst of this hurt, I am so proud of the deputies, firefighters, and a variety of other officers from many law enforcement agencies who heroically evacuated thousands and thousands of people and made sure that no one felt the pain of losing a loved one to this fire. It was an amazing effort, and I am thankful,” Smith added.
The sheriff’s office said that the county assessor’s office may not have been aware of some structures damaged or destroyed in the fire, which would not have been assessed.
Additionally, the Damage Assessment Team was unable to find contact information for all of the property owners whose property was damaged. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone whose property was damaged but who were not notified to email the county Office of Emergency Management with their name, address and telephone number.
The Cameron Peak Fire, which started on Aug. 13, remained 92% contained as of Friday at 208,913 acres. There were 1,091 personnel still working the fire as of midday Friday.
Firefighters continued to work on mop up and further containment on the remaining edges ahead of a cold front expected to move into the area this weekend that is expected to bring some snow to the western side of the fire.
