3 Grass Fires On Tuesday Could Be Sign Of Things To Come
ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Three brush fires ignited Tuesday afternoon proving it does not take much to spark flames in Colorado.
One of those fires scorched 1,500 acres in Elbert County west of Limon. It burned near Interstate 70 and County Road 162 near Agate where one structure was threatened by the flames. Firefighters from seven different departments responded to the scene and were able to get the fire 100 percent contained in about an hour. Officials did not say how the fire started.
Earlier in the day a small quarter-acre fire burned a few trees in the town of Elizabeth. Fire crews there were able to put the flames out quickly, but there were concerns because the fire was in town. No homes or buildings were affected by the flames. It has not yet been determined how that fire started either.
Fire crews at Fort Carson battled a grass fire on post around 3:30 p.m. It didn't spread far, but the smoke could be seen from miles away. How the fire started is unknown.
"We're very concerned this year about the amount of grasses that grew this year because of the wet spring we had and into the summer months," said Tim Mathewson, Fire Meteorologist with the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center. "So fall is going to be a bit of a concern for us for grass fires."
Mathewson said the weather conditions combined with the extremely dry grass in the state is creating a high fire danger. He also said the state usually sees an increase of grass fires in September and October.
"Definitely in the last 24 hours, today and even the next 24 hours is a concern for warm temperatures, low humidity and breezy conditions," Mathewson said. "Conditions that are conducive to large fire potential."
Though cooler weather is in the forecast, expected to hit later in the week and weekend, Mathewson said it is likely more grass fires will ignite into October.
"I think over the next two, three weeks, until we really cool off, we're going to be dealing with some grass fires," he said.
