Wildfires are burning in the Black Forest near Colorado Springs, as well as in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Another fire is burning south of Royal Gorge, next to the Arkansas River outside Canon City, and is about 200 acres in size, according to the Denver Post citing The Bureau of Land Management.
There have been mandatory evacuations in Shoup, Holmes, and Fox Chase.
The so-called Big Meadows fire in the national park was caused by lightning and is being fought by officials.
“Although it is preferred to allow naturally occurring fires to burn for the benefit of the resource and future fire breaks, park managers have decided to suppress the fire when safe to do so,” park public information officer Kyle Patterson told the Post. “Extended drought conditions and reduced interagency resources weighed in to this decision. The capacity to manage what would likely be a long duration fire is significantly limited.”
Colorado is in the midst of a massive heat wave, during which weather records have consistently been broken.
Denver and Pueblo broke high temperature records for the second straight day Tuesday, both before noon.Denver reached 96 and Pueblo hit 101 and the mercury is expected to keep climbing.
The hottest weather is expected in parched southeastern Colorado, where it’s expected to reach 109 in Lamar.
The fire danger is high across much of the state because winds are expected to pick up, making it easy for fires to spread in the heat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
