Cameron Peak Fire Blows Up In Poudre Canyon

Updated 4:35 p.m.

As if Pine Gulch and Grizzly Creek weren't enough, a new fire is closing roads and threatening homes in Colorado.

The Cameron Peak fire started Thursday afternoon in forested land west of Fort Collins. By Friday afternoon, it had exploded to 4,590 acres and was pouring smoke into the already choking skies above the Front Range.

Highway 14 through Poudre Canyon is closed. Campgrounds, homes and businesses in the region of Chambers Lake have been ordered to evacuate, with more neighborhoods on voluntary evacuations.

Two large air tankers and four single-engine air tankers were dispatched to the fire, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, although high winds in the evening kept them on the ground.

A Type 2 Incident Command Team, the second-highest level in the hierarchy of disaster response, is on order to take over coordinating the fire response.