A grass fire sparked by a driver on Highway 350 in Otero County, Colorado was charged for starting the wildfire on July 14, 2019, in the early afternoon on Sunday.
Otero County Sheriff’s Office and Fire units from the outlining areas responded to the fire which at the time was determined to be likely from a vehicle.
Firefighters were in mop up operations at 1448 hours PDT. The estimated amount of acres burned were around 20 but this could have been so much more worse.
Nice work, firefighters and Sheriff’s Office for your great egress and teamwork! – Ed.
Opinion | Did You Know? You can prevent these types of Fires
Never park your vehicle on grass on the side of the highway as the hot vehicle exhaust pipe can burn the grass underneath and cause a fire. If it is a windy day, the wind can pick up the fire and spread it around on very dry fire fuels around your vehicle.
Not only is this preventable, but also will be a cost saver for the one that is being charged for fire suppression assets and law enforcement costs. We are pretty sure, there is a hefty fine that will be sure to included in that amount too.
(c) 2019 NW Fire Blog- Updated at 1500 hours PDT on 7/14/2019
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