Firefighters making headway with Guernsey State Park blaze

Firefighters have partially contained a wildfire in Guernsey State Park that threatened the towns of Guernsey and Hartville this weekend.

Deputy Incident Commander Jay Esprance of Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team C says more than 350 firefighters are working to contain the blaze. Five helicopters, including three National Guard Black Hawks, are carrying water from Glendo Lake.

Esprance says the fire consumed 2,500 acres, and is about 30-percent contained. He says heavy wind made that a challenging feat, but winds have died down.

“The past couple days, there was no way that you could get in front of the fire because it (was) just way too dangerous. And now the firefighting is on the firefighters’ terms.”

Esprance says he hopes to contain most of the fire before the weekend

“There is a predicted wind event again Friday, and we want to get this thing completely done by then.”

Esprance says his team is also handling the Cow Camp Fire that raged in Albany County last week. It’s 95-percent contained, and they’re extinguishing hot spots, but Esprance says people in the area should be careful when burning anything outdoors.