A flock of electrocuted birds sparked a wildfire in Colorado that burned nearly 16 acres and prompted evacuations.
The wildfire broke out Tuesday afternoon near Denver’s water treatment plant in Roxborough.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office issued a voluntary evacuation order for the area as more than 40 firefighters battled the blaze.
Video footage shows plumes of smoke rising from the ground as flames ignite vegetation and firefighters work to extinguish the blaze.
“The fire was caused by a flock of birds that were electrocuted by electrical equipment, ignited and then fell to the ground, setting fire to the dry grass below,” the West Metro Fire Department said.
A flock of electrocuted birds sparked a wildfire that broke out Tuesday near Denver’s water treatment plant in Roxborough
The fire destroyed nearly 16 hectares of land and led to voluntary evacuations
A Douglas County helicopter crew assisted in extinguishing the fire, while firefighters doused the flames with water hoses.
According to the fire department, the fire was under control after 16 hectares of land went up in flames.
After the fire was brought under control and the evacuation ended, authorities warned that residents may still see smoke as small patches of vegetation may be smoldering.
While it’s a common cause, it’s the third time this year that a bird crashing into electrical equipment has caused a fire in Colorado, according to 9News.
“It’s not a common cause of wildfires because 90 percent of wildfires are human-caused,” Ronda Scholting, public information officer with West Metro Fire, told the local news station.
“So this is nature causing the fire. So it doesn’t happen as often as you might think. Of course there are a lot of birds, you see a lot of birds on power lines, but in this case it just happened that a bird caused the fire.”
A Douglas County helicopter crew assisted in extinguishing the fire
After the fire was brought under control and the evacuation ended, officials warned that residents may still see smoke as small patches of vegetation may be smoldering
On July 21, a fire destroyed more than seven acres near The Fort restaurant in Jefferson County, according to West Metro Fire.
“This fire was caused by a bird that was electrocuted by power lines, caught fire and fell to the ground, where it ignited the grass and shrubs below,” the department said.
On July 13, a bird caught fire after coming into contact with electrical equipment, sparking a fire that burned more than 2,700 acres in Byers.
According to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the fire destroyed one home and at least seven outbuildings.
Researchers suspect that a small bird came into contact with live electrical equipment, caught fire, fell to the ground and set fire to vegetation.