The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday evening that a total of 41 structures were damaged late last week when the Cameron Peak Fire again intensified – bringing the total number of structures damaged by the fire to 95 as of Tuesday evening.
The updated number came Tuesday after the Larimer County Damage Assessment Team (DAT) finished its assessments with property owners. The new information on Tuesday included four more structures that had not been identified as of Monday night.
The DAT said that the damage in the latest burst by the fire is as follows:
- Five residential structures and eight others were destroyed along Highway 14 between the Fish Hatchery and Rustic.
- Two residential structures and five others were destroyed, and one other structure was severely damaged, in the Manhattan Road area.
- One residential structure, one other structure and 17 business structures were destroyed in the Boy Scout Ranch Road area. The business structures all belonged to the Buddhist temple in the area, the Shambhala Mountain Center.
None of the residential structures are primary residences, however, the sheriff’s office said.
According to a Facebook post from the Shambhala Mountain Center, the fire reached their property Saturday. The center reported a few buildings burned, but many remained intact. The center set up a relief fund that has raised more than $50,000 as of Tuesday evening.
The new property damage comes on top of 54 structures found to have been damaged or destroyed by the Cameron Peak Fire as of Sept. 12, which included 25 residential structures and 29 outbuildings.
The fire – now the third-largest in Colorado history – was 125,006 acres in size as of Tuesday morning and was about two miles southwest of Red Feather Lakes, according to the Northwest Incident Management Team 6. Containment grew to 22% as of Tuesday evening.
Multiple mandatory and voluntary evacuations, as well as road closures, are in place around the Cameron Peak Fire. Click here for a full list of evacuations, or explore the map below.
To sign up for emergency alerts in Larimer County, visit NOCO Alert's website here. For updates for people who have been forced to evacuate, text the word LCEVAC to 888777 from your cell phone.
The fire is the third-largest in Colorado history. It has surpassed the High Park Fire that damaged hundreds of homes and killed one person in 2012 just east of where the Cameron Peak Fire is currently burning.
The state's 10 largest wildfires in history, ranked by acreage, are:
1. Pine Gulch Fire (2020): 139,007 acres
2. Hayman Fire (2002): 137,760 acres
3. Cameron Peak Fire (2020): 125,006 acres
4. Spring Fire (2018): 108,045 acres
5. High Park Fire (2012): 87,284 acres
6. Missionary Ridge Fire (2002): 72,962 acres
7. 416 Fire (2018): 54,000 acres
8. Bridger Fire (2008): 45,800 acres
9. Last Chance Fire (2012): 45,000 acres
10. Bear Springs/Callie Marie fires (2011): 44,662 acres
Note: The Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center said the West Fork Complex fire, which burned a total of 109,632 acres in 2013, is not included on this list since it involved three separate fires.
The fire ignited on Aug. 13 in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests near Cameron Pass and Chambers Lake. Its cause is under investigation.
