Rocky Mountain National Park to partially reopen Friday after wildfire closures
Rocky Mountain National Park will partially reopen on Friday after closing amid two of the largest wildfires in Colorado history.
The National Park Service tweeted on Thursday that areas affected by the East Troublesome Fire would reopen Friday, while the west side of the park remains closed due to fire impacts and safety assessments.
The park has been closed since Oct. 22.
All evacuations around the park’s gateway town of Estes Park were lifted Monday as firefighters made significant progress containing the Cameron Peak Fire over the weekend.
The Cameron Peak Fire has burned nearly 209,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in Colorado state history.
The East Troublesome Fire, which started Oct. 14, initially burned west of Rocky Mountain National Park’s boundary. It grew more than 100,000 acres on Oct 21 alone and expanded into the western side of the park, then spotted over the Continental Divide to the east side of the park.
Nearly 29,000 acres have burned in the 265,600-acre national park, including to the western edge of Estes Park as well as in the northern part of the park.
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Contributing: Curtis Tate, USA TODAY
