Rampart fire reaches 50% containment on day 2
Apr. 12—Crews working the Rampart fire near Woodland Park reached 50% containment, according to a Wednesday afternoon update from the U.S. Forest Service, the lead response agency.
Crews secured the fire line and mopped up a 100-foot interior from the line, according to a tweet from the Forest Service. Light smoke remained visible off Rampart Range Road due to heavy fuels burning well inside the fire's perimeter.
The fire, which started Tuesday afternoon about 2.5 miles southeast of Woodland Park, has burned 20 acres, the Forest Service said.
Smoke is expected to remain in the area because heavy fuels are still burning in the interior of the fire. High winds were expected all day, and a red flag warning by the National Weather Service was in effect through 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The Rampart fire burned in the Waldo Canyon Burn Scar with grass and ponderosa pine fueling the blaze.
The Forest Service said crews had placed a fire hose all the way around the fire by late Tuesday. They used water to contain the fire by cooling its edges.
A single-engine air tanker was on the scene Tuesday with water drops to assist firefighters from the Forest Service and numerous departments in Teller County and El Paso County.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department teamed up with neighboring fire departments to send five engines with a total of 18 firefighters to assist fire containment efforts, according to spokesman Capt. Mike Smaldino.
