Pueblo Fire Department battling fire near Lake Minnequa

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - The Pueblo Fire Department (PFD) says they are fighting a large fire Thursday afternoon near Lake Minnequa.

Department spokesperson Tim Trujillo says the first call came in around 5:30pm reporting flames and smoke on the west bank of the lake.

Due to the abundance of reeds and other vegetation surrounding the lake, the flames were tall and sent large plumes of smoke that could be seen across Pueblo.

Trujillo said the winds stayed relatively calm, lowering the risk of flames spreading to homes nearby, however an alert was sent out to the surrounding neighborhood warning of air quality issues due to the smoke.

Although the fire was nearly 100% contained at 7:15pm, Trujillo expected firefighters to remain in the area for the next several hours.

He noted that the relatively new concrete path on the west side of the lake, as well as the adjacent construction site, provided a helpful fire break to stop the flames.

The total size of the fire was estimated to be around 70 acres, leading to a response of roughly 50 firefighters, which included some from surrounding agencies that responded as part of a call for mutual aid.

Trujillo said it was too early to know what might have started it.