Outside Work Sparks Small Wildfire In Falcon
A small wildfire in El Paso County was stopped before it reached any homes.
It likely sparked about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday because of metal work being done outside at a home in the 8000 block of Blue Gill Drive according to firefighters on the scene. The fire tore through the work area and into another yard but never touched any homes in the area.
“It’s leaning toward an accidental fire start,” said Lt. Curtis Kauffman, with the Falcon Fire Protection District. “A gentlemen out here was doing some work and he saw a spark. Next thing he knew, the fire took off with the wind. Definitely as dry as it is out here right now, people need to be really careful.”
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office closed Higway 24 for more than one hour while several fire crews from Falcon, Peyton Ellicott and Black Forest worked on the fire.
“With the dry grass [and] wind that we get out here, there’s always the fear of a big grassfire,” said Lt. Curtis Kauffman, with the Falcon Fire Protection District.
Fewer than five acres burned.
An El Paso County Sheriff’s deputy was injured responding to that fire. He was on a motorcycle and was involved in accident. The deputy was thrown 30 feet from the bike but only suffered minor injuries.
