A grass fire consuming nearly 130 acres spurred two schools and a neighborhood to evacuate near Rye on Monday, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said.
The National Weather Service in Pueblo is predicting the area will receive its third snow event of the season as containment efforts continued through the night.
Pueblo is expecting just over an inch of snow, said Klint Skelly, a lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service. A possible snow band, which is expected to reveal itself "somewhere over the I-25 corridor," could increase snowfall totals in the area.
This is good for fire containment, no matter the final tally.
"Sure, the moisture helps, but it's also putting it into an environment that's inherently bad for fire growth," Skelly said. "You're gonna get cooler temperatures that are going to come in and an increase in relative humidity."
As of 5 p.m. Monday, the fire was at 85% containment, according to the Sheriff's Office, which also lowered the estimated size from the 200 acres originally reported. Fire crews will continue monitoring the area throughout the night.
At around 11:40 a.m. Monday, the Sheriff's Office reported that smoke was visible from the Pueblo area. A combination of grass, trees and brush were burning. A little more than 40 firefighters from eight agencies were working the fire, according to the Sheriff's Office.Â
The fire is known as the Old San Isabel fire.
Just before 12:15 p.m., School District 70 announced the evacuations of Rye High School and Rye Elementary and said students would be transported to Craver Middle School.
"Once students are transferred, parents may pick up students at Craver with proper identification," a district spokesperson said in an email. "For students who are bused, we are coordinating with First Student and will provide updates as they become available."
At about 12:35 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office announced evacuations orders for the Mount Baldy subdivision and said the Red Cross set up a reception center for evacuees at the Colorado City Recreation Center, 5000 Cuerno Verde in Colorado City.
Evacuations were lifted for the subdivision of Mount Baldy at 3:54 p.m. The evacuation for residents on Table Mountain Road has been lowered to a pre-evacuation order until further notice. The reception center at Colorado City Rec Center is still open.Â
Click or tap here for the latest updates from Rye schools.
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