Copyright 2006 Denver Publishing Company
By DICK FORSTER and HECTOR GUTIERREZ
Rocky Mountain News (Colorado)
Strong, gusty winds and dry conditions got in their last licks Monday ahead of a forecast cold front, driving several wildfires along the Front Range.
Firefighters from several fire districts scrambled in El Paso and Weld counties to battle and contain the fast-moving blazes.
One wildfire fanned by 32-mph wind gusts swept over 1,800 acres Monday afternoon south of Colorado Springs.
The fire raced across grass and brush land and threatened shopping centers and commercial buildings near the suburbs of Widefield and Security.
Emergency workers evacuated 35 businesses Monday afternoon as the windswept flames threatened.
More than 100 firefighters from the El Paso County Wildland Fire Department and other nearby departments fought the blaze for more than four hours. Four firefighters suffered minor injuries, said Nancy Kittridge, El Paso County Fire Department spokeswoman.
The firefighters concentrated their efforts on protecting the businesses from the approaching blaze. None of the businesses or structures was damaged.
By evening the fire had consumed most of the grassland in its path and burned itself out in many places.
“It is considered zero percent contained because we do not have a control line around it, but there is not an active fire at this time,” Kittridge said.
“We are in the process of doing a mop-up on the fire.”
Winds eased Monday evening to 12 mph, but Kittridge said she expected them to shift in direction, blowing back over the burned area, “and that will help our firefighters.”
In Weld County, firefighters battled a stubborn blaze near Johnstown after a freight train hauling wood chips caught fire. A Johnstown firefighter was treated for chest pains, Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez said.
Firefighters also struggled to put out a fire that torched several tons of hay bales about two miles east of Eaton. It took firefighters about five hours to control the blaze, said Hugh Kane, chief of the Eaton Fire Protection District.
Another 40 acres of grassland burned in an open area about seven miles west of Pierce, David Janssen, Ault Pierce Fire Protection District spokesman, said.
The undersheriff said firefighters also had their hands full twice near Fort Lupton.
Firefighters helped extinguish a brushfire, but were called back out after twigs and branches rekindled more flames.