JEFFERSON COUNTY — Firefighters have brought a brush fire near C-470 and West Bowles Avenue under control. Altough hot spots remain, the highway reopened about 7:45 p.m..
Thirty-three acres have burned, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet.
Police and and fire personnel will continue to monitor the blaze through the night.
Dozens of residents of the Dakota Ridge Apartments across the highway from the North Hogback blaze were lined up on a ridge that drops off to the highway, many of them taking pictures.
Randy Hildreth was at work when he spotted news of the fire on his twitter feed. He left early to check on his apartment and dog. “I wanted to make sure everything is OK,” he said.
Watching the fire with his 2-year-old son, Jack, he said he was comfortable with the progress firefighters were making. “It is a good thing there isn’t much wind,” he said.
As a helicopter dropped water, the boy jumped with glee. “He is going to save the day,” he said of the chopper pilot.
By 5:50 p.m., firefighters had cut off the fire at its northern edge, but small bursts of flame occasionally shot up as a bush or tree caught fire to the south.
Multiple fire engines line the highway, their hoses stretching to brush trucks, where they are coupled to additional lengths of hose.
The hose stretches at least 500 feet up the rugged, and steep hillside where firefighters are dousing hot spots.
Helicopters stopped dropping water at 6 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
A black scar can be seen at the edge of the highway, where the blaze began. The fire worked its way up the hill, getting wider as it moved west.
Tall electric towers on the hill don’t appear to be damaged, though the fire did burn vegetation at the base of one of them.
Earlier, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level One alert, making 3,800 calls to phone numbers in the Ken Caryl Valley to be ready for evacuation. That alert has been since lifted.
West Metro had six engines and four brush trucks battling the fire. About 30 firefighters are on scene. The fire was reported at about 3 p.m, said Rhonda Scholting, a West Metro Fire Rescue spokeswoman.
There have been no reports of injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or @kierannicholson
