Homeless camp starts small fire in Colorado Springs

A small fire believed to have ignited at a homeless camp near Interstate 25 and the MLK Expressway was quickly put out by Colorado Springs firefighters on Friday evening.

Firefighters responded to a 911 call around 6 p.m. The fire burned dry grass and some trees along Fountain Creek.

Firefighters said whoever started the fire left the scene.

The fire scorched a quarter of an acre.

Firefighters spent about 90 minutes to make sure all hot spots cooled down and the fire wouldn’t reignite.

“The fire danger is starting to creep back up,” said Lt. Rich Schmidt. “It’s not very high or anything like that yet, but it’s something that’s definitely a concern.”

The fire department reported nearly a dozen fire reports that were false alarms, indicative of the concern people have about the current dry conditions and fears of another busy wildfire season.