Colorado deputies lift evacuations for Arvada neighborhood after grass fire
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies rushed to evacuate a neighborhood in Arvada due to a house-grass fire burning about 12:35 p.m. on Thursday. According to Arvada Fire, homes near West 84th Place and Quaker Circle in the Leyden Rock community were evacuated during what was being called the "82nd Avenue Fire." All evacuations were lifted shortly after 2 p.m.
People living on 84th Place at Quaker Circle and Quartz Street were placed under mandatory evacuation around 1 p.m., according to Arvada Fire.
Other people living nearby were urged to be ready to evacuate as the direction of the fire was uncertain.
CBS Colorado's helicopter flew over the scene, which showed charred grass in a large field near the neighborhood, along with a home that appeared to have fire damage. The burned area was very close to homes.
The fire was initially described as a house-grass fire by Jefferson County Sheriff's investigators.
"Crews on scene upgraded our incident to include the components of a wildland fire incident as well as a structural protection package within this incident," said Arvada Fire Protection District Captain Travis Fox.
What sparked the fire is being investigated.
The fire was fully contained less than an hour after it started, according to officials on the scene. All evacuations were lifted shortly after and families were allowed to return home.
Fox credited a fast response time and "our crew that has amazing training and can make tactical and strategic decisions to get these incidents under control quickly."
Fox talked about the importance of fire mitigation around the home, even if those homes are not in a forested area.
"Arvada Fire has done a really good job of fire mitigation within the Leyden Rock community, making sure they have at least a 10-foot mowed section from their property line or fence out into the brush," said Fox. "With that grass being mowed down, it really slows the spread of this sort of wildfire that is active and helps prevent it from getting into the fences."
