The lightning-sparked Oak Ridge fire in Pueblo County has grown to more than 1,100 acres of U.S. Forest Service land as of Friday morning.

Fire officials in a Friday morning update announced that 445 firefighters and other fire personnel were in Pueblo County to fight the 1,109-acre blaze. . Between Thursday and Friday morning, the fire grew another 84 acres and is now burning on about 840 football fields of U.S. Forest Service land,

The fire, burning in the Pike-San Isabel National Forests, is still 0% contained and is being fueled by fallen timber, grass and 2-foot deep brush — that is, shrubs, bushes or small trees growing beneath large trees in a forest — fire officials said.

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A changing climate, drier weather, and more frequent severe weather events mean growing wildfire risk. At Xcel Energy, the highest priority is and always will be public safety, and the company has been working hard to confront this threat.

Since 2020, Xcel has invested over $500 million in wildfire mitigation, and it has made considerable progress. We have a clear goal: that no catastrophic wildfire in Colorado is ever started by Xcel Energy assets. But the risk is ever-changing and there is no shortcut to resiliency.

This week, Xcel submitted a 2025-2027 Colorado Wildfire Mitigation Plan to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, building upon our efforts to date. The 2025-2027 plan integrates industry experience, incorporates evolving risk assessment methodologies, adds new technology, and expands the scope, pace, and scale of our work.

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Eastbound Interstate 70 is closed for a vehicle fire near Floyd Hill, Colorado Department of Transportation officials said.

The road is closed between exit 242, I-70 Business, and exit 244, U.S. 6, at mile point 242 because of a vehicle fire near mile point 244, according to a 10:51 a.m. post on X.

According to cotrip.org, CDOT’s trip planning website, the closure was causing a 25-minute delay for eastbound traffic and a 6-minute delay for westbound traffic.

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