Denver, CO
10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
Thornton police officers went door-to-door Wednesday afternoon to evacuate residents after a grass fire sparked near a high school, rapidly spreading and injuring five people, according to law enforcement.
The fire burned for more than two hours in Thornton before the city’s fire department announced the flames had been fully contained at 2:07 p.m. Wednesday. At that time, the fire had consumed roughly 10 acres, Thornton Fire Chief Stephen Kelley said in a news conference. Residents were allowed to return home shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thornton Police Department said in an update.
Fire crews from across the Denver area responded to the fire at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Kelley said. By noon, heavy, black smoke blowing from the scene had shut down Interstate 25.
The fire chief estimated that between 100 and 150 firefighters from various agencies responded to the fire.
No homes were destroyed in the fire, which started on a greenbelt between a residential neighborhood and local businesses, Kelley said. The cause of the fire remained under investigation on Wednesday and damage to the businesses was still being evaluated, he said.
“It is our intent to get ahead of these fires so we don’t have the spread … experienced during the Marshall fire,” Kelley said. “I think we’re very fortunate today that we did not have an outcome similar.”
No fatalities or critical injuries from the fire were reported on Wednesday, Kelley said. Five people, including four firefighters, were injured in the fire but are expected to survive. Additional information on their injuries was not available.
High winds fueled the fire’s “rapid spread” as most of the Front Range and Eastern Plains remained under a red flag warning, Kelley said.
The warning, which will be in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday, covers parts of Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Jefferson, Broomfield, Douglas, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Morgan, Elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Washington, Sedgwick and Phillips counties, according to the National Weather Service.
Up to 55 mph wind gusts and humidity values as low as 15% are forecast through Wednesday evening, forecasters said in the warning.
“These are conditions that we continue to face on a daily basis here on the Front Range,” Kelley said.
Interstate 25 was closed in both directions for more than an hour near the fire’s start for low visibility, a closure that steadily grew before it was fully lifted at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. During the closure’s peak, all lanes of I-25 were closed between Colorado 53/58th Avenue in North Washington and 104th Avenue in Thornton, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Cameras along I-25 in the area of the fire showed thick, black smoke drifting across the highway just after noon on Wednesday.
Pinnacle Charter High School and nearby businesses were evacuated and several roads around the fire — which sparked near the high school at West 84th Avenue and Huron Street — were closed, according to the Thornton Police Department.
Continued road closures are expected in the area as fire crews work to extinguish hotspots and ensure the flames don’t rekindle amid high winds, Kelley said. Crews will remain in the area overnight.
The exact evacuation area is unknown, but police said it covered neighborhoods northeast of the fire. Information on the number of people and homes in the evacuation zone was not available.
Police established a formal evacuation shelter at the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center, 11151 Colorado Blvd., after residents were initially directed to Water World.
Thousands of Xcel Energy customers remained without power in the area Wednesday afternoon, according to the utility’s outage map.
Outages included more than 3,000 customers in Jefferson County near Arvada and Westminster, 200 customers in Adams County near Sherrelwood and dozens of small outages in between, according to the utility.
Xcel Energy did not proactively de-energize power lines in the area, but utility officials were working with fire crews and were ready to shut down lines if needed, spokesperson Michelle Aguayo said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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DENVER (KDVR) — Two officers, one now formerly of the Denver Police Department, face multiple charges relating to separate incidents in the past two months.
According to a release, now-former Denver Police Officer Gabriel Lucero was issued a citation for third-degree assault, official misconduct and false reporting, while Officer Javon Leach was cited for reckless driving and eluding.
The incident involving Lucero reportedly occurred on May 22 just before 1 a.m. in the 500 block of 16th Street. According to a release, Lucero was involved in an assault at a business, as he allegedly assaulted a person and walked away as others continued to assault the victim.
Security guards and an off-duty officer escorted him and the group out; however, Lucero reportedly identified himself as a Denver police officer and attempted to re-enter by using his police badge.
Lucero reportedly provided a false name without any other information, and further investigation verified Lucero as the person involved. Lucero was hired in 2025 and, due to his current probationary status, was fired as of Wednesday.
The incident involving Leach occurred around 1:41 a.m. on June 21, when Leach was reportedly pulling out of a parking lot on Larimer Street, attempting to drive against traffic.
Leach reportedly refused commands to stop as he left the area. Officials said he was found just seven minutes later, traveling at high speeds northbound on Park Avenue West.
He reportedly fled a traffic stop and continued to drive away, and officials deemed Leach to be the suspect following an investigation. He was placed in an off-line assignment while the case progresses, as they are considered misdemeanors.
“The Denver Police Department’s administrative review of Leach’s incident will begin once the criminal case is adjudicated, and that process includes the Denver Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent Monitor, a civilian oversight agency,” the release said.
Denver Nuggets standout forward Peyton Watson could find himself on another team before you know it.
With the Nuggets reportedly open to a sign-and-trade of Watson, could Denver really lose a core piece to their rotation?
It’s hard to imagine many teams being able to shoulder the financial weight of a Watson contract at this point because of the aprons and such, but he’s absolutely an asset to any contending team.
We’ve gone through and identified a few teams that make sense for Watson in the fall… including the one he’s already on at the moment. Hey, he might stay home, you never know!
The Clippers have been linked to Watson as a possible destination; he could help them immensely.
The Pistons have also been linked to Watson, which would help them a lot to contend for an NBA title.
Look, HYPOTHETICALLY, the Nets could move around some cap space with some player trades and such and get a deal done. They are one of the only teams in the NBA right now not in the negative with cap space.
The Grizzlies are the team with the least amount of negative cap space right now, per Spotrac. If they really wanted to pull off a Watson sign-and-trade… it would be hypothetically possible from a money standpoint.
Denver Nuggts
Look, it’s very possible Watson just stays in Denver on a brand-new deal. Who knows at this point?
DENVER (KDVR) – A Denver Park Hill Resident says trash in her alley hasn’t been picked up by city-run waste collection in more than 2 months.
“It’s starting to be frustrating because that pile has been there 2.5 months, and I’m not kidding about that,” Andrea Sanders-Childs said.
A spokesperson for Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) says they did receive a call about the address on Krameria in mid-June and are investigating the case as ‘illegal dumping’ versus ‘missed collection.’
The DOTI spokesperson says more information will be available when the inspector assigned to the area returns on Wednesday.
Sanders-Childs said that the people who live in the home closest to the mess had actually rented a dumpster; however, it was eventually picked up and towed away.
In the meantime, for Denver residents, DOTI provided FOX31 with the following reminders:
- Carts that are overfilled, stuffed or too heavy cannot be emptied
- All trash must be inside the cart, and overflow trash cannot be collected
- To report illegal dumping, call 311
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