Crews battle structure fire in Stratmoor area

Fire crews have contained a fire that started in the 1300 block of Forest Road, that’s in the Stratmoor neighborhood in Colorado Springs.

Firefighters say the fire broke out in an outbuilding around 4:15 and burned a 50 x 200 foot area.

We’re told strong winds knocked down a power line and started the fire.

Firefighters found heavy smoke when they arrived. Residents were asked to stay inside because of the thick smoke, but are now allowed back outside.

The building was made of lumber and tin which made it unsafe to enter. Winds also made knocking down the fire more difficult until additional units arrived. No residential structures were affected.

20 firefighters from the Stratmoor Hills Fire Department, Fort Carson Fire and Colorado Springs Fire Department responded.

This marks the third fire in this area in the last week. Just days earlier, multiple fire agencies worked to extinguish two house fires that broke out about 30 minutes apart and just blocks away from each other.

Stratmoor Hills Fire Chief Jerame Bullard said the cause of the fire in the 1600 block of Maxwell Street is suspicious and remains under investigation.

Bullard says the fire that broke out just minutes later in the 1200 block Sherwood Drive started from faulty wiring and has been ruled accidental. The home belonged to Stratmoor Hills firefighter Jim Light.

Bullard said that Light was at headquarters dispatching crews to the first fire when calls for the second fire came in.

Light’s home was determined to be a total loss, and the Maxwell Street home sustained damage to 50 percent of its structure.