Brush Fire Behind Pinnacle High (view @ 83rd & Conifer) | Updates So Far

​A bit of a read so sorry in advance I posted on Westminster's subbreddit as well but I wanted to share, as best as I could compiled update in regards to the brush fire behind Pinnacle High School. I believe, if not mistaken, the smoke traditionally became noticed by most residents around 11:40AM. By this time departments of Thornton, AdamsCo and Federal Heights ( I do believe) started to arrive on seen followed by Adams Sheriff and so on. I will say, the situation was officially moving fast around noon when the PCHS (Pinnacle Charter High School) was evacuated across the street to the K-8 Event Center for a "controlled release," and by 1:40 PM, the elementary side was following suit, or at least starting to call parents for pickup. During all this, the wind was—and still is—a major factor, and if you were local to the area, you were probably as curious as the next person. This leads me to, lets be hoenst, you probably went to "adventure out" (and I hope) while staying clear of the crews. While doing such, you'd find that when standing out there, besides getting dust to the eyes, you could actually feel the water spray from the efforts (or at least right at 84th & Delaware, like I was). ​ The traffic situation was a bit hectic for a moment with people being rerouted to 83rd and Marigold (if you wanted to turn left onto 84th) to clear the way for emergency personnel, and there were reportedly at least five crashes on I-25 believed to be due to the smoke and closures. Local business owners and residents who couldn't reach their homes were originally directed to evacuate to Water World, though that was later updated to Margaret Carpenter as the news stated. While the roads from 84th & Greenwood/Huron to Conifer Rd were mainly affected, they seem to have slowly reopened with time, but either way, please still proceed with caution. ​ As for the aftermath, Pinnacle has stated there will be no school for the high school side (for the students) tomorrow, Feb. 26th, but the HS staff is to operate as normal along with the K-8. I’m not 100% certain, but it’s believed there were 4 firefighters and 1 resident injured in this all, so please check with the news as time goes. I know for certain news teams and emergency personnel are staying in the area tonight just to make sure no hotspots spark up again. Through and through, simply stay safe out there and as news comes out I, and I hope others, keep each other updated <3

**P.S. just like Smokey The Bear says, "only you can prevent wildfires."