A brush fire in Morgan County resulted in a death this afternoon.
The man was driving a tractor and may have been trying to outrun the fire when the tractor rolled, crushing him underneath, Morgan County Sheriff James Crone said.
The identity of the victim has not been released.
“We don’t know if it was an agricultural fire that got out of hand or if it was some other sort of accidental fire at this time,” Crone said. Officials believe that high winds contributed to the spread of the flames.
Fire crews from Wiggins responded to the fire northwest of Orchard. The fire was extinguished by around 6 p.m., Crone said.
The same fire crews also responded to a brush fire near U.S. 34 in Weld County after putting out the Orchard fire. That fire was contained by 8:30 p.m. but may smolder for a few days, said Chief Landre Walker of the Wiggins Rural Fire Protection District.
No structures were damaged in either fire, Walker said. A total of about 160 acres of brush burned.
Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier: 303-954-1661 or jsteltonholtmeier@denverpost.com
