Neighbors react after wildfire burns hillside near Garden of the Gods, inches toward homes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A man was arrested Thursday night for arson after a wildfire near Garden of the Gods Park burned around twenty acres and came just feet away from several homes.

We spoke with one woman who told KRDO the people who lived closest to the flames were away on vacation, so she had to call them and tell them their house might be on fire.

“You’re talking 5 feet in some places of their home,” Jacqy Grosser said. “It’s remarkable that this house doesn’t have any damage.”

The flames came just about as close as they could before uprooting her own life – just feet away from her yard.

Grosser told us it was her dog that tipped her off.

“Bolting to me, tail in between the legs,” she explained.

She told KRDO the smoke took over the hillside quickly – going from a bonfire to a billowing wildfire in a matter of minutes.

Police arrested Adam Gilmour for arson after firefighters found evidence of his encampment and wrongdoing up there.

People who work at Red Leg Brewing, just down the hill, evacuated as soon as they figured out what was going on.

“Immediately everyone jumped into action,” explained worker Elizabeth Graham. “It’s scary, [we] saw the smoke from out east already,” she referenced the Meridian Fire burning in Eastern El Paso County.

Kelly Poole can still see the Waldo Canyon Fire burn scars from her apartment complex across 30th.

“That is a constant reminder of the wildfire danger that I live with,” she said before walking over to a view of Thursday’s fire. “By the time I got down here, the fire had wrapped around this corner here. There was a line of cars at the apartment complex trying to get out. This was literally bumper to bumper here,” she motioned toward 30th.

Now, Kelly’s worried she’ll have a hard time evacuating if there’s another fire.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Springs Fire Department told KRDO it’s prepared for situations like this – sending more than forty firefighters to tackle yesterday's flames at 30th and Garden of the Gods Road.

“[I] Can’t thank them enough for everything that they did,” said Jacqy. “They saved our homes.”