Rare Tornado Reported In High-Elevation Colorado Wildfire

PARK COUNTY, COLORADO (AP) — A tornado has touched down at the edge of a high-elevation wildfire in Colorado, a doubly rare event that apparently caused no damage and had little effect on the fire.

The National Weather Service says the twister touched down at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Park County south of Fairplay, a central Colorado town about 10,000 feet above sea level.

National Weather Service meteorologist Russell Danielson says the tornado appeared to be near or on the edge of a wildfire that has burned about 17 square miles.

Danielson says tornadoes are rare at that elevation and rare at any wildfire.

He says no damage has been reported and the tornado appeared to have little or no effect on the wildfire. The area is sparsely populated.

Danielson says it's only the sixth tornado recorded in Park County since record-keeping began in the 1950s.