A fire sparked on a Fort Carson training area on Thursday afternoon burned itself out before the sun went down.
Homeowners nearby were on edge because this was in the same area where the Carson Midway Fire started and they worry, this will continue to happen.
Fort Carson officials tell News 5 this fire sparked while a training exercise was going on. They let it continue to burn for about 50 acres in a controlled manner in order to mitigate some of dry fuels in their training area. This has left homeowners wondering why they’re still training on Red Flag Warning days.
BREAKING: We are seeing another fire burning in the Fort Carson training area very close to where the Midway Fire started. We are just south of High Stakes View now, neighbors say this is exactly what the Midway Fire looked like at first… @KOAA pic.twitter.com/eDnNFgm37w
— Lena Howland (@LenaHowland) April 19, 2018
"It looked just like this when it started," Stephen Boring, a neighbor said.
This controlled burn caused some flashbacks for homeowners in the Midway area.
"The Midway Fire started maybe a couple hundred yards to the north of that fire," Boring said.
Only one month ago, the Carson Midway Fire destroyed three homes, 3300 acres and forced nearly 250 homeowners to evacuate.
"I sat there watching it and I kept praying, keep going, keep going, then all of the sudden, it kicked up and it went over there and it surrounded a house and then all of the sudden the house just went poof," he said.
Here’s another look at the smoke plume we’re seeing coming from the Fort Carson training area right now. We’re hearing that this may be a controlled burn but neighbors are very on edge right now @KOAA pic.twitter.com/XQWYntsPUb
— Lena Howland (@LenaHowland) April 19, 2018
But on a Red Flag Warning Day, as the 117 Fire was burning only miles away, Fort Carson soldiers went back to training after taking a day off to help with that fight and a fire sparked on the training area. They let it burn itself out in a "controlled" environment and they say, it was not started intentionally.
Several neighbors didn’t quite trust their word and packed up, just in case.
UPDATE: It looks like the fire that was burning on the Fort Carson training area is now out. They say it was a “controlled burn” but keep in mind, El Paso County is under a Red Flag Warning (aka high fire danger) until 8pm tonight. ?? @KOAA pic.twitter.com/e72XiUtHOK
— Lena Howland (@LenaHowland) April 19, 2018
"There’s my go bag right there, all I’ve got to do is hook up and go, everything I’ve got, personals and what not is in that trailer, I’ve got pictures and papers and everything all stored in that trailer," he said.
Boring is a Vietnam Veteran.
"Training the troops, that’s a priority," he said.
But on the hot, dry, Red Flag Warning days, he hopes they will reconsider, for the safety of these homeowners.
"You gotta have a little thinking up here saying hey, we can’t do this, you know?" he said.
