Highland Lakes Fire 90% contained, remains at 166 acres Thursday

UPDATE 10/31/2024 1:00 PM

According to the Divide Fire Chief, the Highland Lakes Fire is 90% contained.

UPDATE 10/30/2024 12:00 PM

According to the Teller County officials, the evacuations for the Highland Lakes Fire will all be lifted at noon. Only residents will be allowed in the area until 4 p.m. The fire is 80% contained as of Wednesday afternoon.

Residents will need to present a valid ID or proof of residency in order to enter the area.

Proof of residency includes, but isn't limited to:

• utility bills
• lease agreements
• mail with your name and address
• vehicle registrations
• property tax documents

All pre-evacuation orders remain lifted.
UPDATE 10/29/2024 5:00 p.m.

As of 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff's office says the fire is now 166 acres and there is 60% containment on the fire. Pre-evacuations have been lifted, however, evacuation orders remain in place.

Aside from the home that was lost Monday, there hasn't been any additional damage to structures, according to the Teller County Sheriff's Office. Some state units that were helping fight the fire have been released.

UPDATE 10/29/2024 1:00 p.m.

As of 1:00 p.m., the sheriff's office says the fire is now 166 acres and there is 15% containment on the fire. While it does seem like a significant amount of growth, Sheriff Mikesell says this can be attributed to the back burns crews did through the night to begin establishing a perimeter.

There have been no changes to the evacuation or pre-evacuation orders as of the afternoon update. Currently, there are about 150 personnel working the fire line Tuesday afternoon.

The following areas remain under an evacuation order:

• Wayward Wind
• Snowhill
• Aspen Village
• Broken Wheel
• Alpine View
• Beaver Lake Circle
• Beaver Lake Place
• Star View Trail
  

Teller County Government

One thing that Sheriff Mikesell addressed on the Tuesday afternoon briefing was when people can return home. At this time there is no immediate plan to allow people back into their homes with how dynamic the fire has been.

Currently, the area is seeing gusts between 40 -60 miles per hour.

KOAA 5

UPDATE 10/29/2024 10:00 a.m.

In a press briefing on Tuesday morning, the Teller County Sheriff's Office has some good news to share, crews who have been working around the clock now have 5% containment on the fire.

Thanks to a mix of some surprise overnight rain in the area, crews were able to work on the containment. Sheriff Mikesell did say that they are starting to see winds pick up in the area and by afternoon the area is expecting gusts between 50-55 miles per hour.

State resources have been running air drops on the fire this morning and it has helped with containment.

Some of the agencies working on the fire are as listed as follows:

• Widefield Fire
• Cripple Creek Fire Department
• Pikes Peak Regional Fire Protection District
• Lake George Fire Protection District
• Jefferson-Como Fire Protection District
• Teller County Fire Department
• United States Forest Service

This fire is under investigation as a criminal act according to the sheriff's office. At this time they do believe that the fire started at a house before spreading to the surrounding area.

UPDATE 10/29/2024 6:30 a.m.

One home is lost as the Highland Lakes Fire burns near Divide, according to the Teller County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office says all of County Road 511 and County Rd 51 from County Rd 5 to County Road 512 is closed until further notice.

The fire is burning near Beaver Lake Circle, which is located near Blue Mesa Drive northwest of Divide.

There is an evacuation center at the Woodland Park Community Church. The American Red Cross of Southern Colorado has responded to the evacuation center to assist as well.

For those evacuated by the fire, the Teller County Sheriff's Office says that they will be having medication escorts beginning Tuesday for those that need medicine in the area, all you have to do is call (719)687-9652 to schedule an escort.

For Woodland Park School District students in 7th-12th grade, school will be held as a remote learning day Tuesday.

The sheriff's office says the fire was human caused. They say they are still investigating, and the name of the person or the charges they may face have not been released.

At this time, no injuries have been reported, but they say people have been treated for smoke inhalation.

We spoke with Teller County resident Chris Ades who was evacuated from the area out of precaution. He talked about his main concerns over his house but was thankful for the first responder's response.

Because of the fire, Teller County is now under a Stage 3 fire ban.

The sheriff's office says there will be an aggressive fire fight on Tuesday with air drops planned. They also say they are nervous about the fire because of the area it's in and due to weather conditions.

An emergency declaration has been issued for this fire. You can read it below:

This is a developing story. News5 has a crew at the scene and will update this web story as we learn more.

The Teller County sheriff's head of dispatch says a total of seven alerts were sent out within five hours Monday. More than 1,000 people for pre-evacaution orders.

Covering Colorado

Emergency Alerts: Will you be notified in Southern Colorado?

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To sign up for Peak Alerts in Teller County, click here.

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Children's Colorado says the reimbursement cuts will continue to be catastrophic to its operations

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