Spring Creek fire grows to 95,000 acres, becoming third largest in Colorado history

The Spring Creek fire in southern Colorado became the third largest in state recorded history when it soared to 95,739 acres by Wednesday evening, a more than 15,000-acre jump from Tuesday, according to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.

The fire, roughly 1½ to 2 hours south of Colorado Springs and burning in Costilla and Huerfano counties, remained only 5 percent contained — unchanged from Tuesday, officials said in an update. It has burned more than 100 homes built in a development started by multimillionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes in the 1970s.

It began June 27 from what investigators believe was a spark from a fire pit but quickly took off and hasn’t stopped growing. The Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing was out Wednesday, dropping fire retardant on the area to draw lines of containment. The C-130 Hercules aircraft has the ability to discharge 3,000 gallons of retardant in less than 10 seconds, covering an area of 1/4-mile long.

“It’s still an active, unpredictable fire,” Ben Doon, Costilla County’s chief administrative officer, said during an update for evacuees that was streamed on Facebook. That meeting, held on the Fourth of July, was preceded by a rendition of the national anthem.

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