Electrocuted birds to blame for brush fire in Roxborough: Is this common?
DENVER (KDVR) — Crews responded to a brush fire on Tuesday afternoon near a Denver water treatment plant in Roxborough, and it started because of a group of electrocuted birds.
The fire around 6730 N. Rampart Range Road grew to around 35 acres but was contained within about an hour. West Metro Fire Rescue said the fire was reportedly near structures at the plant.
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A voluntary evacuation order issued for the areas of Rampart Range Road and Roxborough Park Road was lifted.
Douglas County’s helicopter was helping with fire suppression efforts. South Metro Fire Rescue also sent units to help with the fire.
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Pinpoint Weather Chief Meteorologist Dave Fraser said wind was the driving factor for this fire.
“It’s not terribly strong, but it’s enough,” Fraser said.
The area is under Stage 1 fire restrictions.
How often do electrocuted birds start fires?
West Metro Fire said a group of birds was “electrocuted by power equipment, caught fire and fell to the ground, igniting the dry grass below.” It’s at least the third time this summer a wildfire has started in Colorado this way.
How does this happen?
“If a bird is on one line, it’s just fine. When it touches two, it has a problem,” Mark Jurgenmeyer, interim CEO of CORE Electric Cooperative, told FOX31’s Greg Nieto.
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Four birds were found at the base of the pole in the Roxborough fire. Engineers and linemen are now taking a closer look at how to improve upon proactive protective coating covers already in place.
Although not entirely uncommon, CORE has seen this bird electrocution equation before this year, including earlier in the year in Byers.
Looking ahead, CORE is trying to figure out how to decrease the chances of this scenario happening again.
“It really is a constant effort for us to get better and improve, and we’re trying,” Jurgenmeyer said.
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