A fast-moving wildfire destroyed at least 10 structures and burned about 10,000 acres of grass and pasture land near Schriever Air Force Base before it was finally controlled Saturday evening, authorities said.
At least one of the structures was a home.
“We lost three buildings and these cars and this friend’s motor home,” homeowner Richard Baughman told 9News.
About 50 families were evacuated from their homes some 15 miles east of Colorado Springs as gusty winds pushed the flames, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and El Paso County Wildland Fire Supression Team told reporters.
Falcon Fire Protection District spokesman Danny Miller said no injuries were reported. He said the fire began just after noon near Colorado 94 northeast of the Air Force base, and spread west toward Colorado Springs and south toward Pueblo.
Miller said 15 agencies joined forces to battle the blaze. About 150 firefighters were involved.
The fire may have been started by a cigarette, Miller said, but officials are still investigating.
The wildfire was fanned by high winds that pushed the flames across highways, said Lt. Lari Sevene, spokeswoman for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
“The wind gusts were very, very strong and consistent. They did change directions on us a couple of times,” Sevene said.
Winds were blowing at 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, said Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Boulder.
The El Paso blaze flared just a day after Gov. Bill Ritter warned in his annual fire season news conference that grass fires are a major concern this year.
Ritter said long-term weather forecasts called for drier- than-normal conditions through July. Mountain areas also face greater wildfire dangers this year because of the ongoing pine beetle problem, which is devastating huge stands of trees and leaving tinder-dry fuel waiting to ignite.
Grasses in lower elevations and on the Eastern Plains are at risk because of a heavy growing season last year, which left long strands of dead grasses in fields this spring.
Last year, 26,535 acres burned in Colorado, only a fifth of the 10-year historical average.
However, already this year a total of 8,900 acres have burned.
Staff writers Michael Booth and Mike McPhee and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
