Fire at Colorado recycling facility spreads to 2 acres; officials using records from 1987 blaze to fight it

DENVER -- A large fire at a tire recycling center in Colorado spread to two acres Wednesday evening, July 22, fire officials said -- threatening one structure at the historic site.

It happened around 5:30 p.m. at the facility on County Road 41 near County Road 46, according to officials with the Platteville-Gilcrest Fire Protection District. Officials were called out for equipment on fire, and found the fire spreading to nearby tires. Initially, there were two tire mounds on fire, and the blaze spread to include seven tire mounds -- with two acres burning and one structure threatened.

Officials said there were no reports of injuries, and they were not issuing evacuations, however, one homeowner voluntarily evacuated.

Fire officials asked that anyone in the near vicinity that can smell smoke stay indoors, wear a mask -- and move to fresher air if impacted by the smoke, noting 12 agencies were on scene or en route for environmental and air quality concerns.

This fire occurred at a historic site -- where, in 1987, there was a large fire that lasted for a few weeks. Fire officials said command staff were looking at records from that incident to help come up with a strategy to fight this fire.

Meanwhile, firefighters were using heavy equipment to create berms in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading further.

It's unclear what was initially on fire, or how the blaze started.