Updated at 5:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.
Two fast-moving grass fires in the Eastern Plains are nearing containment, after firefighters spent hours battling them and local officials ordered evacuations.
One grass fire burning in Lincoln and Elbert counties, roughly 80 miles southwest of Denver, has prompted multiple evacuations, as firefighters have spent hours attempting to contain it, according to radio communications monitored by CPR News.
The fast-moving flames jumped rural roads in the early afternoon, burning near wind turbines and through farms and grasslands.
Around 4:25 p.m., radio traffic indicated that firefighters were making significant progress containing the blaze, although multiple hotspots and active flames continued to burn.
Another fire burned several hundred acres between Weld and Morgan counties, south of Wiggins, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. The fast-growing brush fire was contained by 4:50 p.m., according to the office.
A huge swath of the Eastern Plains is under fire weather warnings due to dry conditions and strong winds.
Holmes, in Elbert County, said that the weather was complicating efforts to fight the blaze. The smoke and wind meant firefighters don’t “have a good grasp on this yet,” she said.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations around 2:45 p.m. in the rural area between County Road 2T to County Road 22, and then north to County Road 2W. A shelter is available at the Limon Area Fire Department at 130 C Avenue in Limon, according to an emergency alert.
Fire officials in Simla, a small town on the Eastern Plains, ordered evacuations around 12:45 p.m. for County Roads 74 to Highway 24 and County Roads 169 to 185, according to Wendy Holmes, a spokesperson for Elbert County.
In Morgan County, evacuation orders have been lifted. Sheriff David Martin credited local farmers with helping officials contain the fire, using tractors to draw fire lines.
This is a developing story.
