More than 16,000 acres have burned in southwest Colorado and thousands remain away from their homes as the 416 Fire rages on. As of Sunday evening, it was still just 10 percent contained.
Over the weekend, the echoing sound of helicopter blades over the forest provided a slight relief as fire crews brought water every few minutes to trees still smoking.
"It’s a big coordinated effort to make sure we’re all working together and doing the best we can to protect life and property," Fire Management Specialist Lathan Johnson said.
Those efforts are focused at homes along U.S. 550, where fire crews on 16-hour shifts have been working to pave a path – a fire break – between homes and scorched trees.
The goal is to keep the fire west of 550, and it’s working.
Burn marks that can be seen running right up against Highway 550 are there by design, helping to make the road act as a barrier to help stop the spread as of the fire.
Steve Beiser’s home is mixed among the smoke, but was still standing on Sunday – a sign of firefighters’ success so far even as the 416 Fire grows.
"This morning it was pretty evident that it was time to go," Beiser said.
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