Officials release cause of the ’24 Fire’ and break down fire fighting operations
PENROSE, Colo. (KRDO) - Tuesday evening, the Greater-Penrose community learned the cause of the '24 Fire' as they gathered in the local elementary school to get answers from Fort Carson and the Fremont County Sheriff's Office.
Fire crews said the initial cause of the fire was a vehicle malfunction on Highway 115. They said a vehicle pulled over while driving on the highway, and that was the spark point.
The town hall meeting, held at the Penrose Elementary School, was organized to address resident concerns regarding a lack of communication during the emergency. Assistant Chief of Operations for Fort Carson Fire Peter Wolf provided a breakdown of firefighting operations and addressed issues regarding fire mitigation piles that contributed to the blaze.
"We're talking piles that were 6 to 8 feet tall, 6 to 8 feet in diameter. They were prepped to the contract spec, which is what we needed to do pile burns in the winter. But we never got winter," said Wolf.
Wolf has been with Fort Carson for 25 years and noted that the specific stretch of Highway 115 that caught on fire has been a primary concern throughout his entire tenure, and his mentor's tenure.
Several residents who spoke at the town hall raised concerns about the evacuation process, the timeline of the fire's rapid growth, and communication from the firefighting agencies.
Wolf said that Incident Command made plans for the evacuation the night before to be enacted if the fire hit a specific trigger point.
As for the fire's rapid spread, Wolf said that the fire crews believed they had it under control when it was a mere 64-acre fire last week, then with help from the temperature and high winds, it rapidly grew out of control.
Kathy Dunn could see the fire from her front door step this weekend, less than 4 miles away.
"We could see a lot of fire and a lot of smoke, and we decided we were going to pack things. We still have things packed by the front door," said Dunn.
While Dunn was concerned about the timing of the information she received, she said the Tuesday town hall provided the answers she needed.
"I thought the information was very, very good," Dunn said. "It was nice to see people and for them to tell us these are the things we're doing."
Fort Carson officials said the fire hasn't grown in size since Sunday, but despite that, there is no set date for when Highway 115 will reopen.
They said the goal is Friday, but Fort Carson Command will be taking the decision day by day.
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