A grass fire visible from Interstate 25 north of Wellington closed part of the highway for nearly two hours Saturday afternoon.
I-25 was fully reopened about 4:25 p.m. The fire was burning an estimated 80 to 100 acres about six miles north of Wellington, a town near the Wyoming line. Firefighting agencies were working to contain the fire.
A release at 3:25 p.m. said a large air tanker was en route to assist.
About 2:30 p.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation closed the southbound side of I-25 at Exit 288, reporting that wildfire smoke was visible from the highway. It closed the northbound side soon after at Exit 281, closer to Wellington, but the northbound side was reopened about 4 p.m.
The grass fire was near I-25 mile marker 284, the State Patrol said.
In a local advisory, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office reported that the fire was burning an area bounded by County Road 7, interstate 25 and Ranch Horse and Rising Eagle roads. It ordered all residents in the area to evacuate immediately by using County Road 7.
Wildfire map
Click markers for details, use buttons to change what wildfires are shown. Map data is automatically updated by government agencies and could lag real-time events. Incident types are numbered 1-5 — a type 1 incident is a large, complex wildfire affecting people and critical infrastructure, a type 5 incident is a small wildfire with few personnel involved. Find more information about incident types at the bottom of this page.
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