Buffalo Fire in Summit County forces thousands to evacuate

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SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — The Buffalo Fire near Silverthorne has burned 91 acres and forced thousands to evacuate on Tuesday.

6:30 p.m. Tuesday:

The Red Cross was opening a shelter for displaced residents at Frisco Elementary School, 800 8th Avenue in Frisco at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

3 p.m. Tuesday:

1,384 homes in Mesa Cortina and Wildernest above Twenty Grand Road have been evacuated while an additional 1,160 homes below Twenty Grand Road were given pre-evacuation notices.

No homes have been lost in the fire.

A press conference will be held at 4 p.m. outside of the Silverthorne Recreation Center where officials will provide an update on the fire. A community meeting will be held for residents and evacuees inside the center at 6 p.m.

12 p.m. Tuesday:

Summit Fire responded to the fire around 11 a.m. Tuesday and ordered residents in the Mesa Cortina and Wildernest above Twenty Grand Road to evacuate their homes.

Evacuees may go to the Silverthorne Recreation Center for shelter.

Crews estimate that the fire is about 91 acres in size and expect wind and dry conditions to fuel the fire.

Evacuations of Wildernest and Mesa Cortina are in progress. We have our full wildfire response occurring, and have requested hand crews and aircraft.

— Summit Fire & EMS (@Summit_Fire) June 12, 2018

Summit Fire continues to tweet out updates about the fire, saying the department has requested a big air attack. Incident managers hope to keep the fire from jumping the well-established fire break around Mesa Cortina/Wildernest. Authorities advised people not to fly drones in the fire area.

The incident command team for the #BuffaloMountainFire have ordered four heavy air tankers and two very large air tankers (DC-10) size and a Type-1 helicopter from other fires in the area. Stand by for an air show.

— Summit Fire & EMS (@Summit_Fire) June 12, 2018

Homeowners who left pets behind in the area can call Summit County Animal Control for assistance to save them at (970) 668-4143.

For residents with pets left at homes in Wildernest and Mesa Cortina, Summit County Animal Control has a hotline at (970) 668-4143 to help retrieve them. #BuffaloMountainFire

— Summit Fire & EMS (@Summit_Fire) June 12, 2018

A community meeting was scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Silverthorne Town Hall. Members of the public with questions can call the Buffalo Fire hotline at (970) 668-9730.