MONUMENT, Colo.—Firefighters gained the upper hand Saturday on a wildfire burning near the U.S. Air Force Academy.
The wildfire near Monument had burned about 60 acres in the foothills north of the Air Force Academy by Friday evening. The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately known.
By Saturday afternoon, no smoke plume was visible, according to The (Colorado Springs) Gazette ().
Firefighters were aided Saturday by a plane and two helicopters that dropped water and retardant ahead of the flames.
More than 100 people were fighting the blaze in rocky and steep terrain. Firefighters were cutting fire lines to block the blaze’s advance and trying to use the natural rock formations to fortify their lines of defense, said Ralph Bellah, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman.
———
Information from: The Gazette,
