Power Plant In Colorado Springs Catches Fire
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - A power plant in Colorado Springs caught fire Monday morning, forcing an evacuation of the building.
The three-alarm fire started at the Martin Drake Power Plant at approximately 10 a.m. and all employees got out safely.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that there was a voluntary evacuation ordered for several blocks around the plant.
CBS4 partner KKTV also reported that there were some power outages in the area, but that those problems were mostly resolved an hour later.
Several streets near the plant were closed while firefighters worked to put out any hotspots in the plant.
Martin Drake Power Plant fire - Voluntary evacuations are I-25 east to Cascade & Cimarron south to Las Vegas
— CSFD PIO (@CSFDPIO) May 5, 2014
Copter4 video showed dozens of firefighters on the roof of the plants spraying water on blackened walls with hoses.
The plant provides approximately a third of the power for the Colorado Springs area. It is located just east of Interstate 25 on Conejos Street.
So far there's no word on what caused the fire, and there's no early estimate on how much damage it caused.