With little ceremony, firefighters stopped the spread of the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history that at one point crept within a few kilometres of the city’s southern suburbs.
The 55,104-hectare blaze was declared fully contained at 6 pm on Tuesday, 24 days after it started.
”There is not like a procession, or a band that plays or a baton that gets passed. It just happens. It’s a point and we can say we crossed it. We all breathe a sigh of relief,” fire information officer Tom Lavagnino said.
The Hayman fire, named for a ghost town in the area, started 65 kilometres southwest of Denver and within three days had roared to within 16 kilometres of the southwest suburbs. It destroyed 133 homes.
Firefighters are now concentrating on making sure that smouldering tree trunks, logs and debris don?t burst back into flame.
”There are still some unburned islands of fuel within the confines of the fire,” said Lavagnino. ”But the perimeter of the fire is looking pretty good.”
A former Forest Service employee is charged with igniting the blaze on June 8. Terry Barton, who was fired on June 22, has pleaded innocent to four federal charges, including arson.
Prosecutors said she told investigators she started the fire accidentally while burning a letter from her estranged husband. – Sapa-AP