Monument Fire 100% Contained
Evacuation Orders Lifted
POSTED: 11:36 a.m. MDT May 5, 2002
UPDATED: 11:51 a.m. MDT May 5, 2002
Another fire blackened the Colorado landscape Saturday afternoon in what has become a seemingly common occurrence on the Front Range in this exceptionally arid spring season.
Fire officials reported the 35-acre fire near the Air Force Academy was 100% contained by Sunday morning. Between 12-15 firefighters remained at the fire overnight to extinguish hot spots.
The fire was located about three miles west of I-25 just south of the town of Monument.
Residents from 20 houses had to be evacuated Saturday before the blaze was brought under control.
The fire crept up to the yards of some houses but no structures were damaged and no one was injured, El Paso County sheriff's spokesman Jim Groth said.
The fire, which burned in a hilly area of scrub oak and brush, was reported at about 3 p.m. All but three evacuated families were allowed to return within about two hours and the others returned after the fire was contained at 7:30 p.m., Groth said.
A helicopter made water drops and four air tankers dropped red fire-retardant slurry on the flames.
More than 400 wildfires have burned about 15,600 acres in Colorado this year, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center of the National Interagency Fire Center.
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Fire officials reported the 35-acre fire near the Air Force Academy was 100% contained by Sunday morning. Between 12-15 firefighters remained at the fire overnight to extinguish hot spots.
The fire was located about three miles west of I-25 just south of the town of Monument.
Residents from 20 houses had to be evacuated Saturday before the blaze was brought under control.
The fire crept up to the yards of some houses but no structures were damaged and no one was injured, El Paso County sheriff's spokesman Jim Groth said.
The fire, which burned in a hilly area of scrub oak and brush, was reported at about 3 p.m. All but three evacuated families were allowed to return within about two hours and the others returned after the fire was contained at 7:30 p.m., Groth said.
A helicopter made water drops and four air tankers dropped red fire-retardant slurry on the flames.
More than 400 wildfires have burned about 15,600 acres in Colorado this year, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center of the National Interagency Fire Center.
- May 5, 2002: Monument Fire Claims 35 Acres, Forces Evacuations
- May 4, 2002: Fire Blazing Near Monument
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
