As of Sunday evening, the High Park Fire burning Larimer County, Colorado continues to burn out of control -- more than 20,000 acres have been scorched already and Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith says there is little hope for containment anytime soon.
"We have no hope for containment today," Smith said during a media briefing about the fire. "Mother Nature is driving this fire. All we can do is get people out of the way."
Reuters reports that Mother Nature did indeed produce difficult conditions for firefighters including stiff winds, dry conditions and temperatures rising above 90 degrees near the fire.
Smith also said that the 250 firefighters on scene are doing everything they can to battle the blaze with the support of several air tankers and helicopters. Additional ground, air and fire engines have been ordered for Monday, according to InciWeb.org.
"This is the fire a lot of folks in Larimer County have always been worried about," Gov. John Hickenlooper said after touring the scene of the fire, The Denver Post reports. "We are throwing everything at it we can." Gov. Hickenlooper signed an executive order requesting National Guard support for fire relief efforts.
During a media briefing, Smith echoed Hickenlooper's sentiments saying that this fire has been burning through multiple areas of Roosevelt National Forest that authorities have been concerned about for the past two decades.
A total of 18 structures have been destroyed or damaged, according to The Associated Press, and one person has been reported missing from a home that was destroyed by the fire, The Coloradoan reports.
9News reports that more than 2,000 emergency notifications have gone out to residents and businesses within a five to 15-mile radius of the 22-square-mile fire over Saturday and Sunday.
To put the size of the fire into perspective -- at 20,000 acres, the fire is nearly the same size as the entire city of Boulder, Colorado, according to The Denver Post.
For the latest official maps of the fire, updates on closed roads and evacuations visit InciWeb.org.
LOOK: Photos, video from the High Park Fire below.
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