A wildfire, known as the 125 fire, in Elbert County near Simla, has burned about 1,000 acres, and an evacuation order for the town of about 600 residents has been lifted.
The fire is described as a grass fire, said Lt. Karla Schmidt of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. El Paso County is assisting Elbert County with the fire. El Paso County officials were notified of the fire at 3:35 p.m. Thursday and staff was sent to Simla to assist the Elbert Fire Protection District.
The wind-driven fire has burned about 1,000 acres and is about 90% contained, according to fire officials.
The evacuation order has been lifted, according to a 6:10 p.m. tweet from the Elizabeth Fire Protection District.
Elbert County Road and Bridge graders were used to cut wide fire break lines and eliminate vegetation, a fire fuel source, firefighters said.
According to the emergency management office’s tweet, there is a shelter at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, 95 Ute Ave., in Kiowa.
Simla, about 48 miles northeast of Colorado Springs, is under a red flag warning for fire danger, posted by the National Weather Service, until 8 p.m. Thursday. Winds in the area are gusting to 40 mph and relative humidity is in the single digits at 8%.
