PHOTOS: Amid a week of spreading wildfires and evacuation orders issued across Colorado, a new fire has broken out โ this one calling for a new set of evacuations near Rifle in western Colorado. According to the Grand Valley Fire Protection District, the Cottonwood Flat Fire, which broke out Thursday afternoon, is burning on County Road 309, just south of Interstate 70 between Parachute and Rulison. At the last report just after 10 p.m., officials said the fire had burned 310 acres. Residents within a one-mile radius of 1800 County Road 309 were told to evacuate immediately, while a pre-evacuation warning was issued for those in a two-mile radius of the fire. The Cottonwood Park Rodeo Grounds in Parachute was opened to shelter evacuated livestock. Highway 6 was closed for hours in both directions Thursday afternoon, impacting a stretch of the road between mile markers 77 and 83 from Parachute to Rulison. The highway reopened at around 10:20 p.m. Thursday night, officials confirmed. The origin and cause of the fire are currently unknown.
