A helicopter flies through Poudre Canyon on Thursday as flames scorch the forest south of the river. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post) via: coloradodaily

The wildfire has grown about 5,000 acres over the past 48 hours, with the current total acres burned reportedly at 52,068. Via: InciWeb –

The High Park Fire is located approximately 15 miles west of Fort Collins and has burned 52,068 acres to date and is and estimated 15 percent contained. [...] Today’s weather calls for building thunderstorms in the afternoon with winds developing out of the NE as storms move east over the plains. Late yesterday afternoon, a thunderstorm cell parked over the southwest corner of the fire. Downdrafts from the storm caused an increase in fire behavior, which launched embers into the wind, causing the spot fire on the north side of the Poudre River.

• Personnel involved: 1,387
• Significant: Continued evacuations of 600+ residences; Road closures are still in effect; Local residents have been allowed to return on a stand-by basis to some subdivisions on the east side of the fire; Spot fire north. [...] Colorado Army National Guard and Colorado Air National Guard assisting with road closures and also providing fireline personnel, heavy engines and equipment; Damage assessment teams are validating and identifying damaged and destroyed structures. Secretary of Interior Salazar visited the fire on 6/14/2012. A state-wide ban on opening burning was issued by the Governor today. Substantial increase in total costs to date due to use of actual expenses versus previoiusly used estimates.

You can listen to some of the EMS, Fire, and LE personnel who are involved HERE.

KMGH Denver: Another 200 evacuation notifications were issued overnight at the High Park Fire burning near Fort Collins. At 11 p.m. Thursday, residents in the Glacier View area east from Eiger Road to Rams Horn Mountain Road and north from the Mount Blanc Guardian Peak area to the north end of Mount Everest Drive were told to evacuate immediately.

The Denver Post: Incident commander Bill Haberstick said the weather might aid the battle today. Humidity levels are expected to rise to about 60 percent in the valleys and 40 percent on ridge tops, up from 20 percent to 30 percent in the previous two days. “This is extremely good news,” he said. “Humidity retards the fire’s ability to grow and ignite other fuels.”

AP Raw video:

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