Wildfire seen near Woodland Park along Rampart Range, 100% contained

UPDATE at 2:36 p.m. on July 22: The Rampart Fire is 100 percent contained, the Forest Service said.

UPDATE at 6:37 p.m. on July 21: According to the Forest Service, lightning was determined to be the cause of the Rampart Fire. The fire is 70 percent contained. It’s 13 acres in size after Saturday’s burnout operation.

UPDATE: As of Saturday morning, officials say the fire is estimated to be 6 acres and is 40 percent contained. At 11 a.m. crews implemented a burnout operation to secure the perimeter, causing an increase in the amount of smoke seen in the area. The cause is still unknown.

PREVIOUS STORY: A wildfire is burning north of Woodland Park along Rampart Range Road, and several campgrounds — but no homes– were evacuated Friday evening.

Woodland Park police said the fire is approximately 20 acres on Rampart Range Road near the El Paso County and Teller County line. Helicopters were called in to assist with firefighters. ( MAP ) The fire wasn’t contained as of 7:30 p.m. Friday and the cause is unknown.

The fire was said to be burning between Forest Roads 346 and 348, a remote area containing around 30 homes. No flames and little smoke were visible from a roadblock at the intersection of Rampart Range and Woodland Valley roads.

The Teller County Sheriff’s Office said no structures were immediately threatened, but then said at 5:25 p.m. that Forest Service Roads 941, 943, 944, 945, and 946 needed to evacuated immediately. No evacuations have been ordered for El Paso County yet.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said residents within a 1.7-mile radius of Rampart Range Road and Forest Service Road 312 should be prepared for a possible evacuation. Rampart Range will be closed from Rampart Range Road Fork to just north of Beaver Creek.

Officials told media during a meeting at 7:30 p.m. that rough terrain was causing difficulties for ground crews, and the area burned was hard to access. Air support was still working, though the aircraft are expected to be grounded at nightfall.

Slide to see a time difference in the fire:

Water drops on #RampartFire in progress pic.twitter.com/gWJWHtJRlM

— Cdr. Greg Couch, PIO (@TCSOPIO) July 21, 2018

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.