A four-day-old wildfire in Lake County’s Interlaken Historic District has grown to 585 acres with minimal containment, fire officials said.

What started as a small campfire left unattended is now a wildfire the size of more than 443 football fields.

The Interlaken fire is burning on 585 acres of U.S. Forest Service land southwest of Leadville and is only 5% contained, according to a Friday news release from the U.S. Forest Service.

Wildfire containment isn’t the same as a fire being put out — it’s the status of a control line being completed around the fire that can be expected to stop the fire’s spread.

The fire was started by an abandoned campfire about 180 feet from the Interlaken trail and 1.5 miles from the trailhead, fire officials said.

Fire investigators believe the campfire was not properly extinguished and was burning for several days before it sparked the wildfire Tuesday afternoon. Abandoned fire coals, when not taken care of, can retain heat for extended periods of time and reignite if winds pick up.

Timber, litter and dead and downed trees are fueling the flames, according to fire officials.

As of Friday morning, 214 fire personnel were at Interlaken to fight the blaze, working with a combination of helicopters, air tankers and ground crews.

More crews are expected to arrive throughout the day Friday as firefighters work to build a fireline around the flames, focusing on the southwest side, according to a Friday morning update. On the north side of the fire, the terrain is steep and full of dead and downed trees, forcing crews to establish a fireline further down the hill along Interlaken Trail.

“Aviation resources continue to drop buckets of water and fire retardant on the fire to assist in minimizing fire spread,” fire officials said in a Thursday night statement. “Firefighters are working to protect a number of values at risk including private property, historic structures at Interlaken, the Canada lynx habitat and utility infrastructure.”

Local search and rescue crews are assisting firefighting efforts by using boats to bring supplies across the lake to the fire area, and more helicopters expected to arrive to help douse the flames, fire officials said Friday.

Four helicopters will work to drop water and retardant on the fire Friday, officials said.

Interlaken was evacuated Tuesday, and pre-evacuation orders remain in place for Lake County’s Lost Canyon along County Road 30 and northern Chafee County.

Temporary flight restrictions are in effect over the fire area to give room for fire crews to work — flying outside aircraft or drones in the area will impede firefighting efforts and ground fire crews’ aircraft, officials said Friday.

Originally Published: June 14, 2024 at 7:42 a.m.