Colorado Springs firefighters spend 20 minutes extinguishing grass fire on south side of town

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) responded to a grass fire Monday, in the northeast corner of the Union Boulevard/Fountain Expressway along the Martin Luther King, Jr. bypass.

The CSFD asked drivers to avoid the area while crews worked; authorities briefly closed southbound Union at Fountain.

The fire was reported around 8:30 a.m., in an area commonly populated by illegal homeless camps; the CSFD said that it is investigating whether a fire used to keep campers warm overnight, sparked the blaze.

#UPDATE all of southbound Union is shutdown at Fountain. pic.twitter.com/6qBFOFUyVB

— CSFD PIO (@CSFDPIO) February 26, 2024

Dry and windy conditions caused flames to spread quickly but burned up a hill under Union, allowing firefighters to use it as a natural fire break.

"It's a lot of light, flashy fuels right here -- and just with the topography kind of running up the hill, we were able to take advantage of Union to create a natural break for us right there, give us an opportunity to get a handle on the fire and get things under control," said the CSFD's Lt, Aaron McConnellogue.

The CSFD said that no one was injured and there were no citations issued for starting the fire.