Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing story. Updates will be provided as they become available.

The wildfire burning in Larimer County north of U.S. Highway 34 and west of Loveland, Colorado, has spread to cover 8,134 acres and is 5% contained as of 8 p.m. Thursday, according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

At 12:30 p.m Friday, the size of the fire is 9,194 acres and 5% contained. Fire activity occurred on the northern portion of the blaze, and the fire did not cross Highway 34.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for the Masonville area and Glade Road from Highway 34 to Indian Creek. Evacuation orders are also in place for Drake to Dam Store along Highway 34, including Storm Mountain and Palisade Mountain, Waltonia Road, Sylvan Dale to Ellis Ranch, Eden Valley to Sunrise Ranch and County Road 18E from Pole Hill to Pinewood Reservoir.

The voluntary evacuation notice for the area north of Carter Lake to U.S. Highway 34 has been upgraded to a mandatory evacuation order by the LCSO as of 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The voluntary evacuation notice for the area of Dunraven Glade north of Glen Haven was upgraded to a mandatory evacuation order as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Larimer County Board of Commissioners Chair John Kefalas declared a disaster emergency on Tuesday in order to access emergency management resources at the local and state levels.

According to the USFS, more than 200 firefighters are working to contain the fire, which they took command of early Tuesday morning. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating evacuations, and residents in the evacuation area are asked to text LCEVAC to 888-777 for further information. NoCoalert.org is also providing alerts.

Voluntary evacuation orders for Hidden Valley east of Devils Backbone including Ridge Parkway and Spring Glade Road to the north were issued just after noon on Tuesday. Voluntary evacuation orders for Glen Haven were issued Wednesday. 

The fire was initially reported to first responders in a 911 call at approximately 10:38 a.m. Monday morning, according to the LCSO. 

In addition to crews responding to the fire on the ground, air support dropped water and fire retardant on the fire until 8 p.m. Monday. Crews are still working to contain the fire and are facing near-critical fire weather in the area with high temperatures and low humidity, the USFS said.

The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert on Tuesday due to heavy smoke from the fire.

Find the latest updates as of Friday, Aug. 2 below. The most recent updates are first.

Fire continues to grow, some voluntary evacuation orders lifted as containment progresses

As of 12 p.m. Friday, the fire had spread to 9,194 acres, and containment remains at 5% on the east side of the blaze. Voluntary evacuation orders were lifted for the Hidden Valley neighborhood, and for residents off of Ridge Pkwy.

Mandatory evacuations for residents near Glade Road, Riverview RV Park, north of Carter Lake and from Buckhorn Road to Woods Rose Lane were switched to voluntary evacuations.

Potential thunderstorms are forecasted for the coming weekend which could shift winds and bring rain. The fire continues to be managed by the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1, with 327 personnel working the fire.

Structures reported damaged from Alexander Mountain Fire 

Larimer County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release stating that at least two dozen structures had been damaged or destroyed by the Alexander Mountain Fire once firefighting efforts were finally able to assess the damage on Aug. 1.

The areas of Palisade Mountain Drive and Snow Top Drive have seen the most damage, according to the release. The structures are believed to be both homes and outbuildings.

Firefighting efforts continue, headed by Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1.

A 4 p.m. press conference reported that fire size has spread 8,089 acres. Containment remains at 1%.

Shelters have been set up at the Estes Park Events Complex in Estes Park, Colorado and Foundations Church in Loveland, Colorado for evacuees.

Containment begins on Alexander Mountain Fire as 1% of the blaze is reported controlled

Resources have been spread thin due to multiple fires along the Front Range, but an evening update provided by the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland said that 1% of the blaze was officially controlled.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, fire growth expanded in the northwest portion. Firefighting efforts focused on the east permitter, near Sylvan Dale Ranch.

Smoke and poor visibility contributed to a lack of aviation resources to drop fire retardant and water over the blaze throughout Wednesday, the press release reported.

Thursday, Aug. 1, at 6 a.m., Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1 will take control of the fire efforts, the press released said. Dry and hot conditions are forecasted through the weekend.

Alexander Mountain Fire covers 7,648 acres 

Officials said the USFS now estimates the fire burning in Larimer County to cover 7,648 acres as of 7 p.m. Wednesday. The blaze is still at 0% containment as crews continue efforts to get the blaze under control.

Voluntary evacuation orders were released by the LCSO for Glen Haven and the region west towards Dark Mountain. Residents are not being asked to evacuate at this time, but the LCSO advises that those in the area should be prepared for evacuation as the fire moves closer to the area.

The fire is expected to continue burning through Wednesday evening.

1 person dead in Stone Canyon Fire north of Lyons

As of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, The National Interagency Fire Center reported that the Stone Canyon Fire has reached 20% containment.

Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson confirmed Wednesday, July 31 that human remains were found in a residence in the burn area of the Stone Canyon fire burning near Lyons.

Johnson said that no further information will be released immediately as the investigation is still active and crews are still working to contain the fire in the area. This remains the only confirmed fatality associated with the fire. The BCSO also confirmed that at least five structures believed to be residential structures have been destroyed.

Resources are being shared between the two fires, Johnson said.

“We’re really gonna push hard today to knock this fire down,” Johnson said. “We are still working in coordination with our friends in Larimer County who are dealing with the alexander mountain fire. We’re sharing resources, working together and doing our best.”

The Stone Canyon Fire was most recently mapped by officials at 1,548 as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Alexander Mountain Fire continued to spread, new mandatory evacuations ordered

The fire just west of Loveland is now estimated to cover 6,840 acres and spread to the west, north and east through the night and early morning Wednesday, July 31 according to the USFS.

Incident Commander Mike Smith detailed the plans for the crews working to contain the fire in an informational video released Wednesday morning on Facebook.

Smith explained the movement of the fire in the three cardinal directions before explaining the goals for Wednesday. Ground and aviation crews will continue efforts to get the fire under control as they await additional resources to aid them.

“Getting these assets is really one of the challenging things for us,” Incident Commander Mike Smith said. “As we get priorities given to us from the state and federal folks that govern those resources – it’s a balancing act, so we’re doing what we can with what we have.

Smith said that the priority for Wednesday is the area northwest of the fire as it continues to spread in that direction.

The voluntary evacuation notice for the area of Dunraven Glade along County Road 43 was upgraded to a mandatory evacuation order on Wednesday. The evacuation area includes Streamside Drive and Dunraven Glade Road and extends north past Miller Fork Road and Dunraven Trailhead.

Governor Polis to speak alongside Larimer, Boulder sheriffs 

Colorado Governor Jared Polis will attend the July 31 briefing at the Loveland Fire Station 7 at 12:45 p.m., alongside Larimer and Boulder sheriffs and local forestry executives to provide an update on efforts to fight the Alexander Mountain Fire and Stone Canyon Fire. Boulder County Fire said that one person died as a result of the fire burning near Lyons, Colorado. Five structures have also been reported damaged.

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, the Alexander Mountain Fire remains at 5,080 acres with 0% containment. No damages or injuries have been reported, but a press release from Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland said hot and dry conditions forecasted for Larimer County on Wednesday will increase fire activity.

Hotshot crews expected to arrive Wednesday morning

Interagency Hotshot Crews will arrive with additional resources Wednesday, July 31 to assist with the attempts to contain the Alexander Mountain Fire, the LCSO said in a statement released Tuesday evening.

In addition to the Hotshot Crews, a Complex Incident Management Team will take over command of the Alexander Mountain Fire Thursday, August 1. The fire continued to spread throughout Tuesday and remains at 0% containment as of 10 p.m.

The fire has continued to spread north towards Masonville and flames could be seen from parts of Fort Collins Tuesday evening.

As of 11 p.m. there is no evacuation notice for the city of Fort Collins as the fire continues to burn southwest of Horsetooth Reservoir.

Alexander Mountain Fire spreads 5,080 acres, 3,245 residents under mandatory evacuation

A 4 p.m. press conference on Tuesday updated the public that 3,245 people were under a mandatory evacuation order, according to information provided by Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen in his briefing during the press conference.

“Unfortunately, we have some areas where there is some impingement on residential structures,” Feyen said. “We don’t know if (the structures are) involved or not. We just know that the fire is backing into some of those areas. … Our number one priority after the evacuations is keeping our firefighters safe as well, and so we haven’t had a chance to put teams into those areas just because of the fire activity.”

Feyen said that fire activity is currently at the north side of Highway 34 in the mouth of the Big Thompson Canyon.

Fire growth is being observed in three cardinal directions, moving to the north and the east, and the backside of the fire is experiencing what Mike Smith, incident command for U.S Forest Service, called “slope reverse,” where the fire crawls up the backside of the hill aggressively as a result of winds pushing the blaze uphill.

“We’ve just had a wind shift, which we’re all paying very close attention to,” Smith said. “We’ve had wind basically out of the west, out of the north — but a little bit — but now it’s swung at a much stronger northerly wind, and you can see (the) smoke bending over.”

Smith said the Type 3 Incident Command structure that Larimer County has deployed will be aided tomorrow by a Complex Incident Management Team.

“If we can’t get in and engage this fire safely and make sure that our folks can get in and get out of the job that they need to, we’re not going to commit those resources,” Smith said. “So we’re doing what we can, where we can, when we can.”

Smith was hopeful in his statement that hotshot crews would be able to aid firefighting efforts, but resources are in short supply.

“We’re at 0% containment currently,” Smith said. “I hope that we’re going to see that start to improve, but it’s going to really depend on Mother Nature giving us a break.”

Second wildfire breaks out south of Alexander Mountain Fire

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order at 1:53 p.m. Tuesday for the area of Eagle Ridge near Lyons due to a wildfire in the Stone Canyon area.

The second fire is burning less than 20 miles south of the Alexander Mountain Fire that was first reported Monday, July 29. 

Fire restrictions were enacted in parts of Boulder County on July 1 due to high fire danger in the area.

The BCSO announced on social media that crews are actively responding to the fire in the Stone Canyon area near Lyons and said more information will be released as soon as possible.

Animal evacuations underway

The Larimer County Fair begins Friday, Aug. 2, bringing 4-H animals, large livestock and local livestock to the area that is currently threatened by the fire. Feyen said his team was working with Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley to move the animals. Colorado State University Veterinary staff are aiding in the safe transport of all animals.

“So this is especially important if you get a notification of a voluntary evacuation and you have a large animal, we don’t want you doing that at night,” Feyen said. “We don’t want to help you do that at night. We want to do it when it’s safe. So help us help you and move those animals out when it’s early, and help us make arrangements for that so we can keep you and your family safe.”

Reach Hannah Parcells and Allie Seibel at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.