The Alexander Mountain fire destroyed more than two dozen structures, according to Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. The structures, most outbuildings and homes, are in the immediate area of Palisade Mountain Drive and Snow Top Drive. 

The blaze burning eight miles west of Loveland grew to more than 8,100 acres Thursday and remained less than 5% contained.

Emergency services personnel were able to enter several neighborhoods hit by the fire. Damage assessment teams will start a more thorough assessment of the damage Friday morning and begin to inform property owners when that process is complete. 

Jayson Coil, a member of the Southwest Area Complex Incident Team, with more than two decades of experience fighting wildfires, said Thursday was “overall a positive day” — especially considering the situation.

Due to a number of fires burning across the western U.S., including several in California and Oregon that are well over 100,000 acres in size, the incident team has put in specific requests that have gone unfulfilled because of competition for resources. There are about 450 personnel working the fire.

“On the northern side, the fire may hit the Cameron Peak burn scar and we don’t think it will move very far into it. If it goes more than a mile past that, our estimates were wrong,” Coil said. “On the east side in the Masonville area our teams burned out a canal road two days ago, removing that fuel from the fire’s path and that line is holding. Hot shot crews have created a line almost to the extreme northeast corner of the fire and that line is holding as well.”

On the south side of the fire, Coil said there are concerns that a fiber optic cable providing 911 services to Estes Park is a primary concern of fire crews. There are “limited redundancies” for this service, adding to the urgency to keep it protected. He said there is still a possibility it can roll down and through the highway and hit that line.

In total, over 5,000 people have been evacuated as a result of the Alexander Mountain fire and all evacuations remain in place.

At the Greeley Stampede arena in Island Grove Regional Park, only four animal trailers stood in the parking lot. A number of animals, like horses and donkeys occasionally reminded the volunteers working at the barn that they were still there.

Some people gathered in a circle with camp chairs and good conversation as they waited for the all clear signal.

Lt. Troy Badberg, himself a large animal owner who “luckily” did not have to evacuate his animals, noted how quickly northern Colorado communities come together despite tragedies like fires and floods.

“It’s amazing, when we have a natural disaster, how all communities in northern Colorado come together,” he said. “We’ve had donations of hay and grain and a number of volunteers here to help care for the animals.”

In total, there are 100 horses, alpacas, goats, cattle and pig being sheltered in the barn. Badbergh said distance “hampers us,” but people evacuated are happy to know their animals are being cared for, he said.

Despite 99 degree heat, animals appeared to be mostly calm and comfortable when taken for quick walks around the barn area. Grazing in the shade was a top priority for one medium sized horse, who’s handler sat and watched.

As contacting property owners can be difficult during wildfires, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office has set up a call center for people who think their homes or structures may be affected. Residents are encouraged to call the Damage Assessment Center at 970-980-2800 to provide their contact info to the Office of Emergency Management. 

“Getting the notification that your home or property has been damaged is never easy and we will grieve alongside our neighbors through this difficult process,” Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said. “The hundreds of people assigned to this fire will continue working around the clock to keep our community safe. 

Emergency crews are prioritizing protecting homes in the Masonville and Cedar Park areas. A major objective of Thursday’s operations included preventing the fire from moving south across Highway 34 to more heavily wooded areas.

Weather conditions in the area of the Alexander Mountain fire in Larimer County are expected to remain hot, dry and windy according to the latest update from the United States Forest Service.

These weather conditions are expected to “encourage continued fire behavior,” a spokesperson said. 

The cause remains undetermined.