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Summit Fire & EMS wildland crew extinguishes ‘escaped campfire’ in Keystone Gulch

Firefighting crews in Colorado have extinguished hundreds of abandoned campfires so far this summer

A Summit Fire & EMS wildland crew extinguished a small escaped campfire Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. Fire officials have been sounding the alarm on the dangers of abandoned campfires throughout the summer.
Summit Fire & EMS/Courtesy photo

Summit Fire & EMS says a wildland crew extinguished a small “escaped campfire” in Keystone Gulch on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 27.

The fire was limited to about 5 by 10 feet, the fire protection district said in a Facebook post Wednesday, Aug. 28. The fire was the “apparent result of an abandoned squatter’s camp,” according to Summit Fire & EMS.

Though it has been rainy recently and fire danger is at moderate in Summit County, “wildfires always remain a threat to our community,” the fire protection district said. “It never is acceptable to leave a campfire unattended.”



Firefighting crews have extinguished hundreds of abandoned campfires reported across the Colorado Rocky Mountains this summer, prompting officials to urge those recreating to fully extinguish their fires until they are cold to the touch and to never leave them unattended.

In June, firefighters pinpointed an abandoned campfire as the origin of the Interlaken Fire, which burned more than 700 acres near a historic district at the popular Twin Lakes recreation area near Leadville.


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