Firefighters from a dozen agencies contained a wildfire that spread rapidly across southern Elbert County and burned more than 600 acres Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Winds of up to 30 mph helped fan the flames burning along U.S. 24, 3 miles east of Matheson, Elbert County Sheriff William Frangis said.
When it was reported at 11:30 a.m., the blaze had burned about 80 acres. Within 90 minutes, the fire had grown several times that size, but by 4 p.m., it was contained, Frangis said.
“When you can go from 80 acres to 600 acres in an hour and a half, that’s moving pretty quickly,” said Frangis, who praised the firefighters for their efforts. “… There were no injuries, no structures burned except for, I think, some fence posts that might have been charred.”
As firefighters fought that blaze, crews in Yuma County were mopping up after a grass fire that burned 23,000 acres outside Wray on Wednesday.
Two firefighters working the fast-moving Wray fire suffered burns and were hospitalized overnight Wednesday, Wray Fire Chief Gary Timmer said.
One firefighter was released Thursday. The other, who was more seriously injured with second- and third-degree burns on his hands and arms, remained at Wray Community Hospital, Timmer said.
More than 150 firefighters fought the Wray blaze, including some from neighboring Nebraska.
The fire, which was northwest of the plains town, was bought under control about 6 p.m. Wednesday, Timmer said.
The blaze may have been caused by a spark from an electrical transformer near a gas well, he said.
Also Thursday, a grass fire that was probably caused by a discarded cigarette broke out about 10 miles south of Wray along U.S. 385 and burned about 100 acres, Timmer said.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
