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Wind gusts intensify fire in Matheson

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MATHESON – Winds gusting up to 30 mph helped spread a prairie wildfire Thursday afternoon that scorched about 600 acres before firefighters extinguished it.No structures were threatened and there were no evacuations, Elbert County Sheriff Bill Frangis said.”A couple of ranches may have lost a few fence posts,” Frangis said.Initially reported as an 80 acre wildfire around 11:30 a.m., Frangis said the next report a half hour later placed its size at 600 acres. At least 12 fire departments responded.”It was basically a fast-moving grass fire,” Frangis said.A cause was not immediately known.In Boulder County, officials said a wildfire that forced the evacuation of 200 homes was started by a smoldering slash pile that was burned 10 days earlier by a homeowner clearing brush to prevent future fires. No charges will be filed against the homeowner.


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