National forests in 5 Colorado counties forced to close due to wildfires: media

DENVER, the United States - National forest land in five Colorado counties will temporarily close because of extreme fire conditions and blazes that continue to rage throughout the region, CNN reported on Tuesday.

"The new starts and explosive growth of fires throughout the northern Colorado Front Range over the past week, including the Cameron Peak, Cal Wood, and Lefthand Canyon fires, has led to this decision," CNN quoted the US Forest Service as saying.

The agency said the closures will affect forest land in Clear Creek, Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder and Larimer counties, stretching from the Wyoming border to south of Idaho Springs.

As of Tuesday morning, wildfires across north central Colorado and southern Wyoming had affected 442,000 acres (about 1,789 square km) of land, according to the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center.

A total of 3,000 firefighters and support personnel have been dispatched to fight the fires, said the report.