Terrifying reports are speaking about a prison being evacuated after shocking wildfire images showed it to be under threat of being burned down in one of the worst fires in Colorado’s history.
Local residents living in some remote location were told to flee as soon as possible, as they witnessed gusty winds take center stage with low humidity feeding the fire.
The Lee Fire has ended up charring close to 167 square miles of land across Garfield and Rio Blanco counties, nearly 250 miles from Denver.
This news comes as fires raged across the West of America. The Lee Fire continued to burn relatively unchecked, with just 6% of the fire being contained. No major injuries or any kind of structural damage took place.
All 179 inmates of the Rifle Correctional Center was evacuated on Saturday out of an abundance of caution, the Colorado Department shared on that day.
In Southern California, crews ended up reaching 62% containment on the massive 8 square mile Canyon Fire that led to forced evacuations and ended up destroying seven huge structures after breaking out near LA County and Ventura County Line.
Three firefighters were injured in that incident, and inmates were said to have been relocated on a temporary basis away towards the Buena Vista Correctional Complex, as per the Department.
This blaze was called out as the sixth biggest single fire in the state’s history as per the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.