Fire Near Coors Brewery 90 Percent Contained, Inmates Help Battle Blaze
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - The wildfire burning on a mountainside near the Coors Brewery in Golden was 90 percent contained on Friday afternoon.
Copter4 flew over the 66-acre burn area on Friday morning and spotted some smoldering land but no major smoke. Still, officials were concerned that shifting winds could cause the fire to spread.
"We really think we can make some really great strides on this this afternoon, and maybe come to some closure," said Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Techmeyer.
The fire, called the South Table Mountain Fire, and the steep, rugged terrain where it was burning made it difficult for firefighters to put it out quickly.
"[Crews were] digging fire lines, looking for hot spots, working those and mitigating the area," Techmeyer said.
Techmeyer told CBS4 the battle was taxing on crews, as the fire rolled through treacherous terrain.
"It is very steep, very heavy in fuels, [with] loose rocks," Techmeyer said.
The fire started at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and crept close to the 32nd Avenue and the brewery. There was no damage done to the brewery.
Crews with West Metro Fire and 25 other agencies monitored flareups and patrolled the area overnight Thursday into Friday. Trained inmates from the Colorado Department of Corrections also responded, in order to expedite the process.
"[The inmates] are DOC inmates that are trained in wild land firefighting. They are very skilled at what they do," Techmeyer said.
With so much help, damage was limited to the landscape. Only one pump house was burned.
With the aid of low winds, and higher humidity, firefighters could have the blaze fully contained before Saturday.
"You never want to gamble with Mother Nature," Techmeyer said, "[The fire] could pull a trick on us this afternoon."
So far it's not clear what caused the fire. Thirty-second Avenue was closed and not expected to reopen until Saturday morning.
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Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.
