Fire officials say they’ve spent an estimated $780,000 battling a blaze west of Fort Collins.
Helicopters were used only half of the day on Tuesday due to windy conditions as about 350 firefighters worked on land to contain the blaze.
Incident commander Paul Summerfelt explained that cold and wet temperatures this weekend quelled the inner-most section of the fire area. And that’s impacted how crews are working on the Crystal Fire.
“Typically one of the tenets of our profession is we want to start at the back and anchor and flank around the fire and come out through the head of the fire and pinch it off,” he said. “In this case we’re doing exactly the opposite.”
Summerfelt said under current conditions it could take another three to five days before the blaze is completely contained. He added that residents in the fire area should be ready to evacuate again should the fire pick up.
Meantime, both Larimer County and parts of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests along the Front Range have put fire restrictions into place.
