Advertisement

Estes Park Skies Turn Red as Colorado's East Troublesome Fire Tops 170,000 Acres

Colorado’s raging East Troublesome Fire prompted mandatory evacuation orders on October 22, as the blaze grew to more than 170,163 acres, or 266 square miles.

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation order for the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park and western parts of Estes Park. Residents were instructed to evacuate as quickly as possible.

Town officials said all routes into Estes Park had been closed. Rocky Mountain National Park was also closed, and park officials warned that air quality was “hazardous.”

Firefighting authorities expected extreme fire behavior to continue into the evening and burn into upper elevations through the night.

These videos posted to Instagram by gavinfisherr shows skies coloured a deep red and a long line of cars attempting to evacuate. gavinfisherr said he had evacuated to Loveland, according to an Instagram post. Credit: gavinfisherr via Storyful