Colorado firefighters to let human-caused fire at gun range burn out of fear of unfired ammunition

Firefighters will let a fire burning at an outdoor gun range in southern Colorado burn out on its own due to concerns of unfired ammunition cooking off.

The fire was reported just before 2 p.m. on Friday at Turkey Tracks. The U.S. Forest Service said it's taking an "indirect approach" with the 8-acre, human-caused fire that it's calling Turkey Tracks 69.

"Due to unexploded ammunition and a focus on firefighter safety, we are taking an indirect approach for #TurkeyTracks69Fire while utilizing full suppression efforts," the Forest Service said on social media. "Smoke will be visible for the next few days as fuels continue to consume within the fire perimeter."

  
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The range, which sits in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, is about 15 miles northwest of Woodland Park and about 70 miles southwest of Denver.

Another human-caused fire in April at that range burned 128 acres of forest land in April, and in October of last year, the Forest Service prohibited shooting at the range after it said recreational shooting caused seven wildfires that year alone.

A 2012 test by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute called "What Happens When Ammo Burns? Sporting Ammunition and the Fire Fighter" found that ammunition can ignite when exposed to fire, sending bullets, shell casings, and shrapnel in unpredictable directions. The test found some of those bullets or pieces piercing barriers 15 feet away from the site of the ammunition, and in one instance, it pierced a barrier 30 feet away.

The test concluded, however, "sporting ammunition fires are noisy. But the projectives have low energy and are largely confined by sheetrock at short distances. Normal turnout gear will protect the fire fighter at a reasonable working distance."