A day after Jefferson County authorities lifted wildfire evacuation orders, firefighters on Wednesday fully contained the Quarry fire west of Ken Caryl in Deer Creek Canyon.

Firefighters extinguished the Quarry fire blaze after it burned through 579 acres, Jefferson County Sheriff’s officials said.

The cause of the fire, which began on July 31, is believed to be human-caused and is under arson investigation.

The Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office announced Tuesday morning that people affected by the mandatory evacuations in the Ken Caryl area could return home. About 575 homes were under the mandatory evacuation.

Areas previously under a mandatory evacuation order included the Deer Creek Mesa, Sampson, Maxwell, McKinney and Murphy subdivisions. They will all now be placed on pre-evacuation status in case things turn for the worst.

Areas with previous pre-evacuation orders — Hillsdale, Oehlmann, Homestead, Silver Creek and Silver Creek South — have been moved to “non-status.” 

This lifting does not mean that just anyone can rush back to the mountains to take peeks at the damage done, authorities said. 

“Once our residents are all allowed back in, they are going to be the only ones allowed back in for at least 48 hours,” Karlyn Tilley, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said previously. “We’re going to give them a little bit of time. We’re still going to have the roadblocks. We want to make sure they have that space and that time to get back home, get their animals back home and settled before the public can get up their and start recreating and seeing the burn scar.”

Those returning home were required to pick up re-entry credentials at the evacuation center at Dakota Ridge High School.

Deer Creek Canyon Road will remain closed between Grizzly Drive and Phillipsberg for several days for final clean up, the department said.

Alexander Mountain fire

Meanwhile, the Alexander Mountain fire, burning north in Larimer County west of Loveland, continued into Wednesday.

But that wildfire, which is the largest Colorado wildfire this season, is also nearing full containment.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the 9,668-acre fire remained 83% contained, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

U.S. Highway 34, the main road connecting Loveland and Estes Park, fully reopened on Wednesday to travelers.

More than 535 fire personnel have battled the Alexander Mountain fire.

“The work that we’ve all been able to do together, from what I’m being told by people who have done this for three-or-more decades, is unprecedented. And I credit a lot of that working together with the success that we’ve seen in here today,” Capt. Tim Keeton with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said previously, noting the cooperation among the state, U.S. Forest Service and National Incident Management Team.

Like Jefferson County, some residents living near the Alexander Mountain fire have been given the green light to return home with credentials.

It’s for two reasons, according to Keeton.

“I want to make sure that the looky-loos and the people that just have a curiosity to see what the damage was are not up in there until residents have a chance to go up in there and figure out what they lost or what they didn’t lose,” he said.

He also noted that it’s for the safety of keeping people out of the region, while residents get themselves back to life. He added that it will also reduce traffic due to the high-level of firefighters remaining up there for some time.

There were 929 homes still under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 245 in voluntary evacuation zones.

Residents are being directed to NOCO Alert for the latest information on evacuations.

The Joint Information Center for the Alexander Mountain Fire can be reached at 970-980-2500.

The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9NEWS contributed to this report.