Firefighters today were battling difficult terrain to establish a fire line around a wildfire burning next to the historic Manitou Incline.
“It is very rugged and very steep,” said Ralph Bellah, spokesman for the Pike & San Isabel National Forests. “There are three drainages and three ridges involved.”
Authorities believe that although the fire will be encircled by a fire line by the end of the day, the fire will continue to burn within the line for several days.
“It won’t be out for days,” said Barbara Timock, another Forest Service spokesperson.
Bellah said that investigators have determined that the fire was “human-caused” but declined to elaborate.
“A human started it; it wasn’t lightning-caused,” Bellah said. “It’s under investigation.”
The Incline was originally built in 1906 and in later years was the bed used by a cable car to take visitors to the top of Rocky Mountain. The cable car stopped running in 1990. The fire is just to the north of the Incline.
The fire was first reported Friday afternoon and was pushed by strong winds to approximately 30 acres.
Bellah said fire crews need to cover an area about six times that to fight the fire.
It is burning in ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and gambel oak.
The fire started on private land and then spread onto national forest lands.
Approximately 45 firefighters are assigned to the fire today, including two 20-person hand crews and one fire engine.
As of noon, a fire line circled about 80 percent of the fire and full containment was expected by the end of the day.
Timock said the fire line is a cleared swath of land — where trees and brush have been removed, denying the fire fuel. At that point, fire crews will mop up the edges of the fire and then work their way into the heart of the fire, both forest service officials said.
A second fire in El Paso County, near Ellicott, damaged at least one residence and outbuilding and burned a llama .
It was brought under control Saturday evening but flared up again briefly this morning.
The Ellicott Fire Protection District was on the scene of the reported 7:04 a.m. flareup within a matter of minutes, and the fire is back under control, said Lt. Lari Sevene of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Sevene said the fire started about 3 p.m. Saturday when a bale of hay on a truck carrying numerous bales burst into flames. She said that the bale was pushed from the truck onto the shoulder, where it ignited the surrounding grass.
Fanned by high winds, the flames quickly spread across the prairie and ignited a pile of old tires that sent thick, black plumes of smoke into the air.
The fire, which burned 250 to 300 acres, damaged the house and outbuilding and singed a llama. Sevene said the llama was up and walking and was taken to a local veterinarian for treatment.
No other injuries to livestock, firefighters or residents were reported.
The wildfire was contained by 6 p.m. Saturday and the tire fire was put out about three hours later.
Sevene said spontaneous combustion may have caused the bale to burst into flames. She said bales, particularly when wet, sometimes ignite.
Sevene said a portion of the grasslands reignited this morning but firefighters quickly had it under control. She said the winds had died down substantially this morning.
Donna Ralph, founder of the Ellicott Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, said the fire never threatened the approximately 60 mammals, birds and reptiles, although it was a concern. The wildlife center has had to cope with blizzards and tornadoes in recent years. Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
