The Cameron Peak wildfire burning 60 miles west of Fort Collins has skirted several popular campgrounds in the area, including Chambers Lake, according to the fire’s incident management team.
Firefighters have kept a perimeter around the campground’s popular picnic tables, restrooms and playground, even as the fire grew above 14,000 acres this week. The Aspen Glen, Sleeping Elephant, Tom Bennet and Tunnel campgrounds are safe as well.
“This is infrastructure paid for by the taxpayers and it’s a high value for all of us,” said Jared Hohn, deputy incident commander for the Cameron Peak Fire during a community update Tuesday night. “We want to protect those entities.”
The U.S. Forest Service, which manages Chambers Lake and other campsites in the area, closed more than 330,000 acres of forest on Aug. 14. The closure included dozens of trails, fishing and boating sites.
Reghan Cloudman, public affairs specialist for the Arapaho National Forest, said the move gave fire crews a chance to protect public safety and minimize damage to the popular recreation area.
“We know they’re very near and dear to a lot of folks in Northern Colorado,” Cloudman said. “So firefighters are definitely taking that into consideration as they’re working on the fire.”
Reopening the campsites depends on when the fire gets under control, Cloudman said. The Chambers Lake reservation page says the site will remain closed until at least Aug. 27.
The Forest Service and local governments have also implemented a statewide burn ban until the Cameron Peak Fire and other wildfires in the state are contained.
Once the fire is contained, crews still need to evaluate the burn area for safety before reopening outdoor recreation sites.
“We know this (closure) is going to go on for a while,” Cloudman said.
Campers with reservations should automatically receive a cancellation notice and refund from recreation.gov.
Here’s a list of campgrounds that are currently closed due to the fire:
- Aspen Glen
- Bellaire Lake
- Big Bend
- Big South
- Browns Park
- Chambers Lake
- Grandview
- Jacks Gulch
- Jacks Gulch
- Long Draw
- North Fork
- Sleeping Elephant
- Tom Bennett
- Tunnel
