Firefighters made progress building fire lines on Wednesday, but the in southern Douglas County remains only 50 percent contained, according to Dawn Sanchez, fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire, about 40 acres, is burning about nine miles north of Woodland Park on the perimeter of the 2002 Hayman Fire.
Dead trees, burned in the 2002 Hayman fire, are still standing and pose a hazard to firefighters. “The dead wood is still standing. The roots are rotten, some of the wood is rotten, they fall without warning, and they’re just extremely unstable once you get fire in there,” Sanchez said.
Firefighters will allow the internal portion of the fire to burn itself out. As a result, residents will see smoke in the area for days, Sanchez said. No structures are threatened.
Firefighters will “work on where they can get in safely and secure hot spots.”
A public target shooting area has been closed by the fire. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, but officials say the fire “was .”
Itap the seventh fire ignited in the area in the past two months.