Evacuations lifted as fire is 100% contained
A 461-acre wildfire southeast of Chatfield State Park, where high winds and dry vegetation fueled “dangerous firefighting conditions,” was 100% contained and evacuation orders were being lifted, officials said late Monday afternoon.
No structures were damaged and no injuries were reported in the Chatridge 2 fire, according to Eric Hurst, a South Metro Fire Rescue spokesman.
Fire investigators on Monday evening said the cause of the blaze was an “electrical malfunction on a power pole.”
The BackCountry subdivision and the nearby Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Foundation were ordered to evacuate, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The evacuation, ordered early in the afternoon, was mandatory.
People who evacuated were allowed to return home a few hours later, Hurst said.
Residents returning to their homes were urged to be careful as firefighters and firefighting equipment could still be found throughout the area.
At about 3:20 p.m., South Metro Fire Rescue said: “All forward progress of the fire toward the subdivision has been stopped.”
Firefighters continued to work on containing flanks of the fire and smoke will continue to drift into Highlands Ranch.
South Metro Fire Rescue responded to the Chatridge 2 fire around 10 a.m. Monday near the intersection of Chatridge Court and U.S. 85 in unincorporated Douglas County.
By 12:20 p.m., the fire had grown to at least 267 acres and was 60% contained. The fire presented a moderate risk for forward spread, according to firefighters.
Firefighters protected two homes in the area and used helicopters to dump water on the fire. At least six airplanes also responded to the fire.
Around 1:40 p.m., South Metro Fire Rescue said in a tweet that flames had burned to Skydance Drive in the BackCountry subdivision, but firefighters had been able to prevent the fire from entering the neighborhood.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the subdivision and the sheriff’s office said it sent out 964 “code red notifications,” with 706 of the notifications being received.