EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — The Sweetwater Fire burning in El Paso County prompted mandatory evacuations Saturday afternoon. Those evacuations have since been lifted and the fire has been fully contained.
The fire started just before 12:30 p.m. near Pikes Peak International Raceway. During a press conference, officials announced the fire was sparked by people shooting guns at a range when conditions were unsafe to do so.
"The information about the individuals that were out shooting was provided to us by a citizen that had been in the area and had seen them out on the shooting Range prior to the fire. And then as law enforcement personnel arrived in the area, those two individuals loaded into a vehicle and left the area fairly quickly. We were fortunate enough to get a license plate. We know where they live. We know pretty much who they are. So that investigation will continue," El Paso County Sheriff Lieutenant Shane Mitchell said.
He said the investigation is still premature and it's too early to know if the individuals will face any charges.
Denver7 spoke to a resident of the area, Jeff Lewis, who had to evacuate when the fire was approaching his home. He said he was thankful that fire personnel responded quickly.
"It could have been a lot worse than what it was," Lewis said. "They just made the right calls on where to start. And they started where it first had its ignition and kept moving with it all the way down. So and they were rapid. They were moving."
Lewis said, unfortunately, he was not surprised to hear that the fire was human-caused. It's an issue he's been dealing with for years.
"People come out here, there's a bomb fire out there, you know, with no care to anybody who lives out here, their property, their lives, and this is what happens. So and it could have been really bad. I'm glad it wasn't. But I think it's something that needs to be brought under the magnifying glass," he said.
More than 100 firefighters were on the scene Saturday, battling the fire and protecting homes that were threatened.
The Sweetwater fire is just under 350 acres in size. Fire personnel says it will be monitoring the fire overnight to make sure no hotspots get out of control.