It's going to be a rough fire season. Two brush fires were reported Monday afternoon, eating up only a few acres of land, but causing enough smoke to gnaw on the minds of Colorado residents who distinctly remember the devastating fire season just two years ago.

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Witnesses Describe Seeing Shawnee Fire Grow

No one was hurt in the fires and there were no buildings damaged.

A 9-acre brush fire just west of Bailey blew so much heavy smoke in the area that one lane of Highway 285 was closed for several hours because of poor visibility in the foothills.

The fire, which started at about 12:30 p.m. and was contained at 5:30 p.m., was located about 2 miles south of Shawnee. It burned through grass and trees and at one point, threatened three homes and a ranch on the other side of Platte River.

There were no evacuations, although three residents had been told to be ready to leave.

During the brief highway closure, one lane of U.S. 285 was used to allow alternating traffic between Bailey and Kenosha Pass to pass through.

About 35 firefighters from Platte Canyon Fire, Elk Creek Fire, and the Forest Service responded to the scene. Hampered by rugged terrain and gusty winds, it took the group about five hours to contain the small blaze.

Firefighters believe the blaze was a controlled burn that quickly grew out of control because of 15 mph wind gusts.

"I saw the wind kick up, cut up all the grass, and the grass started burning. It's early in the season. And there's going to be a lot more fires in the season and we don't need this fire," said eyewitness Nick Armbuster.

Weather in the area was reported to be about 52 degrees with 8 mph winds and a relative humidity of 6 percent.

"If you remember 2002, the first fire was April 4. And we haven't even made it to April yet and we've already had all these fires. So it's just real, real dry, so folks have to be careful," said Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener.

There are currently no burn bans in effect in Park County but all prescribed burns planned for Monday were canceled or postponed. Even residents who had started burning Monday morning to control vegetation in their area were told to stop, 7NEWS reported.

A fire restriction is now in place for Platte Canyon because of the Shawnee Fire.

About six hours later, a brush fire broke out at 3801 Industrial Lane in Boulder County. Firefighters believe that something from the adjacent train tracks sparked the grass fire. There were several buildings nearby but firefighters were able to respond to the scene quickly and extinguish most of the flames within a matter of minutes.

Last year, a bad wildfire season was prevented by the blizzard of the century, but firefighters aren't counting on the same kind of bailout because the weather's been unseasonably warm and dry -- and there's little moisture in the forecast.