Fire in Interlaken spreads: Emergency services fight flames from the air and rocky terrain

A wildfire sparked by an abandoned campfire near Twin Lakes continued to spread Thursday, burning 578 acres of national forest as firefighters battled flames from the sky and along the edges of the fire as the fire moved up through difficult mountain terrain.

About 140 firefighters are working to extinguish the Interlaken Fire, which is eating through spruce forests and dead trees just outside the town of Twin Lakes and about 10 miles south of Leadville, the U.S. Forest Service said on Inciweb, a federal wildfire database.

Firefighters continue to throw multiple buckets of water and fire retardant on the fire to slow its spread, the USFS said. From the north and south sides of the fire, firefighters on the ground are working to protect the historic site of Interlaken, which is home to a now-abandoned luxury mountain hotel.

The fire is raging in difficult, high-elevation terrain, and emergency crews are searching for areas where the fire is spreading uphill and onto the ridge to establish a fire break, officials said.

Weather conditions on Thursday were warm and dry, with temperatures reaching 25 degrees Celsius and wind gusts reaching 29 km/h, the USFS said.

“There is a slight chance of convective clouds over the mountains during the afternoon, which could produce some very brief periods of gusty and erratic winds,” the Forest Service wrote in its Thursday afternoon update.

Increasing moisture and possibly some showers on the north side of the fire could provide some relief Thursday afternoon before showers and thunderstorms develop Friday afternoon, officials said.

In an update Wednesday evening, the forestry service said it had no clues as to who might have lit the campfire in a fire pit 55 meters from the Interlaken hiking trail and left the fire pit days before the Interlaken fire was first reported on Tuesday.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about campers who started a fire near the Interlaken Resort between Friday and Tuesday to call the tip line at 303-272-5266.

As of Thursday afternoon, the fire in Interlaken was 0% contained. Authorities hope to have the fire under control by June 23.