Residents come home to a house still intact after Cimarron Hills wildland fire

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At this time, the fire is almost entirely contained and has burned around 10 acres.

CIMARRON HILLS, Colo. (KKTV) – The Cimarron Hills and the Colorado Springs Fire Department made their presence known Sunday afternoon at a wildland fire.

The fire occurred in the Cimarron Hills area off Galley Road and Peterson Road.

At this time, the fire is almost entirely contained and has burned around 10 acres.

With neighborhoods surrounding the fire site, over 30 homes were evacuated- forcing residents to take shelter elsewhere while some stuck it out.

“They were trying to have everybody evacuate, but I was trying to keep every chance available not to have to deal with insurance and have to deal with that mess that takes, you know, years to remedy,” resident Ryan Dietzus said. “Just was watching the roof. I was standing on the ladder in the back. I was just making sure everything was okay, and it was. Just seemed right. I thought about turning the sprinklers on.”

Crews said the shifting winds made Sunday’s containment difficult.

On-lookers watched as the fire moved from one side of the field to the other before plowing over heavy fuels.

“Dark smoke, you know, was kind of scary,” resident Jason Stevens said. “I was nervous just like anybody else, you know.”

One resident said after hosing down the outside of his house, he was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“We live in a pretty small house, so we know where everything is and how to find it, and you know we put the cats in the crate and the dog in the car,” Dietzus said.

Now Cimarron Hill residents are just happy to come home to a house.

“Just a relief to come home and everything be okay,” Stevens said. “We’ve got one of the best fire departments in the world for this type of fire. They do this all the time, so I had a lot of faith in them and trust in them, and they did a good job.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Crews will continue to monitor the site overnight.

Peterson/Galley Fire update:
90% contained. Total acres impacted (update) – 5.4
No structures damaged, no injuries. Crews monitoring throughout the night. Further updates will be released tomorrow morning.
— Cimarron Hills FD (@CimHillsFD) April 3, 2023