FRANKTOWN, Colo. — Evacuations have been lifted in Douglas County after a grass fire burned an estimated 1,000 acres a few miles south of Castlewood Canyon State Park, according to Franktown Fire.
The fire was first reported around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. As of 5 p.m., authorities said it was 100% contained and had burned 1,081 acres. A hot load dropped by a trash truck was determined to be the cause of the blaze, deputies later said in an update.
The department said the Douglas County Sheriff's Office issued evacuations around 1:10 p.m. for Lake Gulch Road to Greenland Road, and Dahlberg Road to Highway 83. A DougCO Alert was issued to people in the area. The below map shows the evacuated area.
This was about 3.5 miles south of Castlewood Canyon State Park. Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed that the park was not impacted by the fire.
Deborah Takahara, public information officer with Douglas County Sheriff's Office, told Denver7 that the evacuation zone was "sparsely populated." A handful of homes were impacted by the evacuation order, she said. Denver7 later learned 17 homes were under that order.
The fire was moving fast and was not expected to die down "any time soon," Takahara told us.
Winds in the area were "our biggest challenge" at the scene, Franktown Fire said.
An evacuation center was established at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. It has since closed.
Franktown Fire said the Douglas County Office of Emergency Management ordered "air and blade resources," which included firefighting aircraft.
Douglas County is currently under stage 1 fire restrictions and is under a red flag warning, meaning critical fire weather is either happening or will begin shortly. That warning expires at 6 p.m. Wednesday. As of 1:50 p.m., winds around Franktown were blowing about 9 mph, with gusts up to 17 mph.
In addition to this fire, a crash on Highway 83 near Park Drive partially closed Highway 83. This is just north of Franktown. The public was also asked to avoid that area.
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