Colorado Wildfire
The wind-fueled High Park Fire in Colorado is now 50 percent contained. Firefighters are slowly making progress at containing the wildfires in the western parts of the country and forecasters expect gusty winds and warmer weather Tuesday afternoon that could further fuel the fire. IBTimes Photos

Officials said there's extreme growth potential for wildfires burning in Colorado, but firefighters continued to battle difficult terrain on Monday in order to get a handle on the wind-fueled High Park Fire, which is now 45 percent contained.

Located approximately 15 miles west of Fort Collins, the High Park Fire has already claimed one life, destroyed more than 180 homes, evacuated thousands, and burned more than 58,000 acres.

Sheriff Justin Smith told the Denver Post that a 62-year-old woman who has been identified as Linda Steadman died. She reportedly got two evacuation notifications the day the fire began. However, both calls to her went to voicemail. She lived alone.

One person assigned to the High Park Fire was transported to hospital Monday with a non-life threatening injury, an incident update stated. Officials said this was not a fire line related incident.

More than 1,700 firefighters are battling the blaze, working 24-hour schedules with night and day shifts, an incident report on Monday stated.

Larimer County officials said over the weekend wind gust of up to 50 miles per hour were reported. Firefighters are now working to strengthen the existing containment lines and build similar lines in other areas.

Lightning sparked the fire last Saturday. The current cost of the fire has been estimated at $10.8 million, according to the New York Post.

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