Wildland fire burns 20 acres west of Pueblo

Mother nature was to blame for a wild land fire near Pueblo on Saturday.

The blaze was further proof that even with all the rain, southern Colorado is still home to high-desert conditions.

The call went out about 4 p.m. Saturday, just west of the Pueblo Landfill on Highway 78.

Crews from five different fire districts responded to the fire started by a lightning strike.

“I started to smell smoke and prior to that was a huge crash of thunder and it was very scary,” Luane Taylor said.

Taylor has lived off Highway 78 for nine years, and has never seen anything like this.

“I looked out and there were flames,” Taylor said.

The wind in the valley can be very strong and the wind switched directions as firefighters fought the blaze.

“At first it was traveling east and they seemed to have a good handle on it,” Taylor said. “Then the wind shifted and blew it back from northwest and it flared up again.”

Greg Singleton, who has 160 acres on the north side of the highway, heard about the fire from his granddaughter.

“She said she thought our property was burning,” Singleton said.

Still, he’s the only damage he’s concerned about is his well.

“It won’t hurt the vegetation much, it was make the pasture green up really,” Singleton said.

He’s thankful the firefighters got to the flames as quickly as they did.

“It makes me feel good, sounds like they got out here right away,” Singleton said.

Taylor says fire worries are always on the back of her mind, but this fire was different.

“It’s a real wake up call, it really is,” Taylor said.

The fire burned 20 acres and was contained in a few hours.