PUEBLO — Two wildland fires are contained after they broke out near Lake Minnequa west of I-25 in Pueblo.
One is a brush fire burning vegetation and weeds near Lake Minnequa on the east bank near the 2300 block of Lakeshore Drive, which is right next to the Pueblo fire station, according to our sister station KOAA. The second fire is on the south side of the lake. The Pueblo Fire Department said it's believed the two fires started from the same origin and then spread over Lake Minnequa.
PFD said the second fire, estimated at about 52 acres, was heading southwest in the direction of homes, but the homes were never threatened.
The area was crowded with onlookers. PFD reminded everyone to stay away from the area when fires like this one break out.
"Some of the police officers told me that some of the roads were actually blocked entirely, and they couldn't get through... Not exactly conducive if we had to do evacuations or structural fire fighting," Capt. Woody Percival said.
There was some confusion earlier in the day regarding pre-evacuations when the Pueblo Police Department tweeted out pre-evacuations for the area but PFD did not.
At 6:40 p.m. PFD announced that the fires were contained.
There are no road closures, but police are asking vehicles and bystanders to avoid the area.
Nearly all Pueblo County fire agencies are assisting with the fire. A helicopter was also sent in from Cañon City to help drop water on the fire.
Pueblo County is no longer under fire restrictions as of May 25 when the sheriff's office removed Stage 1 restrictions put in place in mid-April.
