Fort Carson officials said this afternoon that the 9,000-acre fire that has burned on the Army post since Tuesday is now 50 percent contained.
A cold front that moved in Wednesday evening was a big part of getting a handle on the fire, officials said.
A Montana pilot was killed Tuesday afternoon on a slurry mission to fight the fire after his single-engine air tanker crashed. Gert Marais, 42, of Fort Benton, Mont., worked for Aero Applicators Inc. of Sterling, which was on contract to the U.S. Forest Service.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
As many as 300 firefighters had battled the fire on the western edge of the base south of Colorado Springs since it broke out Tuesday in the Juniper Valley area along Colorado 115.
About 75 people were evacuated from homes in and around the Turkey Canyon Ranch area near Colorado 115 on Tuesday. They were allowed back into their homes at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as rain and snow moved in.
