BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A damage assessment team found three additional homes were lost in the Cold Springs Fire in Boulder County on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total number of homes destroyed to eight.
Officials also revised the number of acres burned down to 566 from more than 600. They also said 486 personnel were fighting fire late Tuesday afternoon.
Two evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday morning for residents affected by the fire, the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management said.
A reverse emergency notification message was sent to 67 individuals in the Sugarloaf area that the mandatory evacuation order had been lifted. Sugarloaf Road has been open since late Monday and homeowners are allowed to return home.
Less than a half-hour later, officials alerted an unknown number of residents in the Magnolia area that the mandatory evacuation order had been lifted. Magnolia Road reopened at 11:30 a.m. from Boulder Canyon Road to Peak to Peak Highway.
Boulder Canyon remains closed from Sugarloaf Road to Nederland.
Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for subdivisions east of the Peak to Peak Highway, north of Boulder Canyon and south of Sugarloaf Road.
Residents returning to their homes in the Magnolia area need to contact their utility provider to restart services if they were turned off, the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management said.
Nearly 2,000 people were evacuated, after the fire started Saturday northeast of Nederland. Eight homes and four outbuildings have been destroyed.
Two men from Alabama have been arrested for allegedly starting the fire. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said 28-year-old Jimmy Suggs and 26-year-old Zackary Kuykendall, both of Vinemont, Ala., have been charged with fourth-degree arson, for not properly extinguishing a campfire.