Cameron Peak Fire officials told Townsquare Media NoCo this week that they are still trying to piece together the exact origins of the devastating fire.

The investigation is open but officials have previously theorized that the fire burning over 102,596 acres was human-caused.

Some previous Colorado wildfires, like the 2012 High Park Fire that also burned in Northern Colorado, have been caused by lightning strikes. But in 2020 there was no lighting activity reported on the day the fire first ignited — estimated at just before 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13.

Could the fire have been started by a campfire gone wild? Fireworks? A cigarette? Another gender reveal party gone wrong? All speculation, of course, but it wouldn't have required much of an ignition with the drought-like conditions of the time.

Now about 1,000 firefighters, with crews from more than 30 states, currently work on the fire daily as they continue to investigate the blaze's origins.

The fire has grown to the fourth worst in Colorado history, surpassing the mother nature-caused High Park Fire.

WORST FIRES IN COLORADO HISTORY

  1. 2020 Pine Gulch Fire 139,007 acres
  2. 2002 Hayman Fire 137,760 acres
  3. 2013 West Fork Complex Fire 108,045 acres
  4. 2020 Cameron Peak Fire 102,596 acres
  5. 2012 High Park Fire 87,250 acres
K99 logo
Enter your number to get our free mobile app

How The 2020 Cameron Peak Fire Has Grown

 

More From K99