ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A small bird that flew into electrical equipment, caught fire and fell onto dry vegetation was determined as the preliminary cause of a brush fire near Byers on Saturday.
In a joint press release Thursday from the Byers Fire Protection District and Strasburg Fire Protection District, the departments provided more details about the July 13 fire that destroyed one private residence and at least seven outbuildings. Nobody was hurt in the fire.
Authorities responded to the initial report of a fire shortly after 10 a.m. on Saturday after the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office began receiving multiple 911 calls about a vegetation fire — initially reported as smaller than a football field — along the 2400 block of S. Quail Hollow Drive in an unincorporated part of the county. Both Byers Fire and Strasburg Fire responded to the scene.
The first units arrived at 10:17 a.m. and found "escalating fire behavior," the press release reads. They called for more resources and a three-mile area around County Road 193 and County Road 34 was evacuated.
The fire continued to grow in a rapid and erratic way as it burned through dry fuel and was pushed by the wind, the departments said. Other fire departments from the Denver metro area, plus air resources, were also called to help.
An aircraft with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control collected aerial imagery and estimated the fire's size at 1,155 acres.
The fire was named the Quail Hollow Fire. It was fully contained the same day.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the fire departments said they believe the fire originated in a field south of where the fire was initially reported.
"The preliminary cause of the fire has been determined to be a small bird that came into contact with energized electrical equipment," the press release reads. "While the electrical equipment itself did not fail, the energy was sufficient to ignite the dry feathers of the bird, resulting in the flaming carcass falling into the vegetation below."
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'I knew it was very serious': Colorado man loses home to wildfire near Byers
On Wednesday, Denver7 spoke with resident Mark Lancaster, who barely escaped the flames when the fire broke out. His home was destroyed.
He said he had lived there for 27 years. He was sitting in his recliner on Saturday when he saw smoke outside and multiple outbuildings on fire.
"I knew it was very serious. I picked up the phone and called 911," he recalled. "I didn't even grab shoes, and I walked past my wallet, checkbook and stuff."
He has not returned to see the remnants of his home.
"I'm not ready for that yet," he said. "Looking at the videos and stuff is tough. I think at some point I'll be ready to go back."
Hear more from him and his harrowing story of escape in the video below.
Fire Station 71 in Byers is accepting donations to help Lancaster rebuild. The community can also donate to a fundraiser in-person at High Plains Bank in Bennett.
A final report detailing the cause and origin of the fire will be released at a late date.
