UCCS working with state wildfire academy to train wildfire crews as part of annual effort

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Even before this weekend's wildfire forced evacuations in Boulder, the school's Colorado Springs branch was hosting a training session to help firefighters prepare for responding to wildfires and supervise emergency evacuations.

UCCS hosted several hundred firefighters last week, working with the Colorado Wildland Fire and Incident Management Academy; it provides training and emergency management courses.

"We kind of organized it at the last minute," said the academy's Tracey LeClair. "But it's good that we did, seeing that we're already having fires."

The 190-acre NCAR Fire in Boulder last weekend forced approximately 19,000 to evacuate, according Boulder's Office of Emergency Management, but authorities lifted those evacuations early Sunday evening.

Authorities said that the fire in an open space was at 68% containment Monday evening; the cause remains under investigation.

A University of Colorado spokesman said that the main campus was outside the evacuation zone but the South Campus, a recreational area with trails, was part of the initial evacuation.

The campus resumed normal operations after spring break last week, but the spokesman said that he didn't know if students, faculty and staff were affected Monday.