Fire near Palmer Lake caused by lightning

Update: The U.S. Forest Service Tweeted Friday evening that the fire has burned 1/2 acre and will be fully contained by 6 p.m.

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The Palmer Lake Fire Department says a fire burned 1/10 of an acre on forest service land just outside of town Friday.

The fire, which is now contained, was caused by lightning.

Firefighters from Palmer Lake, Monument, El Paso County Wildland and the U.S. Forest Service worked to stop the flames from spreading.

Several bucket drops were made by the Monument Helitack crew, which is a 10-person wildland firefighting crew that is based in Monument.

The Palmer Lake Fire Department says it’s important for people who live in the area to mitigate their properties now that fire season is underway.