COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A joyriding holiday thief took a firetruck from a volunteer fire department in El Paso County and left it in a ditch in a field four miles away.

Even the head of the Falcon Fire Protection District said it must have been "a pretty exciting ride."

The theft happened onTuesday morning. A rancher spotted the rig in a ravine on his property near Peyton, Colo.

Falcon Fire Chief Trent Harwig said officials have no idea how long the rig was gone or how many miles it traveled. The truck is ruined.

Falcon Batt. Chief Vernon Champlin told KRDO-TV the truck is insured, but if it's totaled, it could take up to nine months to get it replaced.

"This was a primary piece of fire apparatus within the Falcon Fire District," Champlin said. "It will definitely be a crunch to the community until we can get this thing replaced."

Harwig said the truck was hauling 3,000 gallons of water and could not have been easy to drive. The truck is used to shuttle water to fires in remote areas when there's not a hydrant nearby.

It was taken from an unmanned substation at 15355 Jones Road. Harwig said the station is always locked and requires entering a combination into a keypad to enter. There was no sign anyone had broken into the substation, he told the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the theft. Anyone with any information is asked to call 720-635-0385.