The Gazette
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — High fire danger Monday didn’t seem to discourage shooters from taking aim at flammable objects.
The second grass fire in a week was started near Pikes Peak International Raceway on Monday, possibly from sparks caused by people target shooting in a restricted area.
The large, open field partly owned by Colorado Springs Utilities and partly by El Paso County is covered with dry grass, dotted with cactus and littered with shotgun shells and targets riddled with bullet holes.
A propane tank, a gas can and a metal mattress frame were among the junk near the site of the fire, which burned 21/2 to 3 acres in the roughly two hours it took for firefighters to put it out, according to Jackie Kirby, spokeswoman for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
When the Hanover Fire Department crews arrived on scene early Monday afternoon, they couldn’t immediately proceed to put out the fire because people were shooting in the area, Fire Chief Carl Tatum said.
Colorado Springs Utilities’ wildland fire team assisted with the blaze; no structures were threatened, and no employees were evacuated.
A fire last week in the same area, called the Donner Pass fire, burned about 117 acres.
Six to eight people target shooting in the area were contacted by law enforcement and asked to leave, Kirby said. The area is so vast, some people didn’t realize a fire had started, she said, so no one was arrested or charged. Instead, everyone was given a warning not to shoot there again. No one refused to leave.
High fire danger was forecast for Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Pueblo.
A red-flag warning was issued for southeast Colorado, including all of El Paso County, for 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to meteorologist Randy Gray with the Weather Service.
Winds are expected to blow at 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph.
Gray predicted temperatures up to 70 degrees in southern El Paso County and highs in the mid-50s and low 60s to the north. The moisture the Pikes Peak region collected from rainstorms last week is gone, making Tuesday prime for “critical fire weather conditions” in the morning, Gray said.
Anything that could potentially start a fire should be avoided, he said, including throwing cigarette butts out car windows.
The city and county may post signs warning people they’re not allowed to shoot in the area where Monday’s grass fire easily could have caused bigger problems.
“Two fires in a week’s time is pretty significant and the risk to the community could be huge, so we’d like to minimize that and some signage seems to be probably a step in the right direction,” Kirby said.
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