LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — As the Alexander Mountain Fire outside Loveland exploded in size Tuesday, so did the number of evacuees.
With smoke from the 5,000+ acre fire looming behind them, J.B. Hersh and his son Jason are in the mandatory evacuation zone but have no plans to evacuate their home of 73 years.
“We have a lot of work and a lot invested here,” said Hersh. “If it goes down, we go down.”
Inside the expanded evacuation area, many evacuees left their sprinklers running in the shadow of the smoke.
Meanwhile, law enforcement went door-to-door checking homes and leaving behind pink evacuation notice tape.
“That’s how you pack in a hurry — only the necessities,” said Linda Arndt, who was packing up her home with the help of her two young grandsons. “I’m anxious, you know, with the boys here. I’m kind of scared.”
Nine-year-old Kaden Bonn, her older grandson, was taking the evacuation in …