Dahlberg Fire burns more than 1,000 acres in rural part of Colorado's Douglas County, evacuations lifted

A fire that started in a rural part of Colorado's Douglas County early Tuesday afternoon and burned 1,018 acres forced the evacuation of 17 homes for most of the afternoon. The Dahlberg Fire started in windy and unseasonably warm conditions and there were no reports of any property damage or any injuries.

"This is why the fire is 500 acres: it's windy conditions, dry air and critically dry fuels," said Mike Alexander, the Emergency Management Director with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office while measurements of the fire's size were still ongoing. "All of Douglas County is currently experiencing drought. This is one of the driest winters on record, as you probably are aware, so conditions (for fires) are ripe. We also have a red flag warning in parts of the county today."

Firefighters responded quickly to the blaze when the emergency call came in at approximately 12:30 p.m. It was burning in mostly in grassy areas in unincorporated Douglas County not far from Franktown.

Later in the afternoon an aerial support team flew in. A helicopter did water bucket drops and an air tanker dropped red slurry on one part of the burn area. 

Officials held a news conference near the firefight at 3 p.m. and said the fire was mostly under control. At that time, it was 70% contained. By 4:30 p.m. the fire was declared completely contained and all evacuations were lifted.

The Cherry Valley Elementary School in Franktown near the burn area orchestrated an early release from classes because of the fire in the afternoon.

Dahlberg Road, located west of Highway 83, was closed during the firefight.

The cause of the wildfire is under investigation.