COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Smoke was visible from many parts of Colorado Springs Sunday because of several wildfires burning near the city's airport, the Colorado Springs Fire Department confirmed.
Early estimates put the damage at over 500 acres burned, as of 7:15 p.m. Sunday. The fire was slowly spreading east, closing Marksheffel Boulevard between Space Village Avenue and Drennan Road in Colorado Springs. Closures were expected throughout the evening, according to the CSFD.
CSFD said they received the call at 4:17 p.m. and the first crew got on scene at 4:25 p.m.
One abandoned building was destroyed.
There were no evacuations at last check.
Crews planned to wok through the night to contain the fire, CSFD said.
#UPDATE as of 6:34 the fire crews have secured a perimeter around the fire.
— CSFD PIO (@CSFDPIO) March 11, 2024
Crews continue to work the interior of the fire and look for hotspots.
Firefighters from Ellicott and Cheyenne Mountain are helping to fight the flames.
The City of Colorado Springs said that no Peak Alerts were issued due to the fact no structures were known to be threatened by the fire.
We are aware of a grass fire near Marksheffel and Drennan Road. No Peak Alerts have been issued because no structures are threatened at this time. Follow CSFD for updates. https://t.co/tjlJsLO05z
— City of Colorado Springs (@CityofCOS) March 10, 2024
Oftentimes, emergency alert systems allow users to customize their notification settings to what they think is important. Peak Alerts allow for this, but will often by default, send alerts on emergencies surrounding natural or man-made disasters, hazardous materials incidents, missing persons, law enforcement activity impacting the public, and evacuation notices to name a few.