Houses Spared in 300-Acre Blaze Crews Fully Contain Green Mountain Fire; Residents Return Home

By Carrie Porter

Crews got the upper hand Monday night on a wildfire that threatened homes and blackened hundreds of acres on Green Mountain.

By about 8:30 p.m. the blaze had been fully contained and residents who had been evacuated Monday afternoon were allowed to return home.

The fire burned more than 300 acres in the William F. Hayden Open Space Park in the foothills west of Denver, but no homes were lost and there were no reported injuries.

“The rain did help,” said Michelle French, spokeswoman for West Metro Fire and Rescue.

More than 100 firefighters from West Metro, Wheat Ridge, Evergreen, Golden and the Colorado State Forest Service battled the blaze.

It was not clear how many homes were evacuated, but 3,300 residences were notified of the fire by reverse 911, according to Jim Shires, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The blaze started between 12:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. near West Exposition Drive and South Fig Way, near an open space area.

The cause is still under investigation, but Shires said lightning may be to blame.

“The fire was small for a while, then it kicked up,” said French. “Then the fire tore off from the winds.”

A small plane made slurry drops along West Exposition Drive, where officials evacuated six homes about 6 p.m.

About an hour earlier, Michele Vriesman had watched the progress of the fire from her front step.

Her daughter, Laura, stood by her side, using a white cloth to cover her mouth from the floating ash and smoke.

“We must have received about 20 reverse 911 calls this afternoon,” said Vriesman, whose home is on West Exposition Drive.

Originally published by Carrie Porter, Rocky Mountain News.

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