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Smoke From Scrap Yard Fire Billows Over Eastern Plains

STERLING, Colo. (CBS4)- A large fire at a scrap yard near Sterling put out a lot of smoke Thursday afternoon at about 1:30 p.m. Evacuations were lifted for a subdivision at about 8 p.m. Thursday.

The fire is burning in a scrap yard about three miles west of Sterling. The main cause of smoke is burning tires and a storage shed.

Firefighters from three departments and help from the Logan County Sheriff's Office are fighting the blaze.

Forty-four homes in the Desert Village subdivision were evacuated for several hours while firefighters worked on establishing a barrier between the fire and nearby homes.

Officials said power outages in the area are due to several power poles being burned. It is unclear how the fire started, but officials say it might have been a prescribed burn that got out of control.

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