GOSHEN COUNTY – A grassfire near U.S. Highway 26 between Torrington and Lingle on Feb. 22 burned between 750 and 1,000 acres of pasture and crop land, according to Torrington Volunteer Fire Department Chief Lance Petsch.
The fire ignited when ranchers in the area were working on a corral, Petsch said.
“They were doing some work around some corrals, and the work they were doing threw a spark and that started the fire,” he said. “We’re guessing it was between 750 and 1,000 acres.
“I think it was a pretty good size. When you add that wind in there, that’s the big difference. There’s a rate of growth when you have fuel, and that was a pasture that’s pretty tall. Then we had 20 m.p.h. and 30 m.p.h. winds, and it grows really fast.”
Petsch said TVFD firefighters were on scene quickly, which likely saved multiple homes, given the rate the fire spread. Petsch said last week the TVFD dispatched structure trucks and personnel to guard homes against the fire by wetting grass around the homes and knocking down flames that got close.
“I think that this situation, if we had a response five to 10 minutes slower than what we did, we might have lost some houses. It got really close,” he said.
As it was, no homes or large structures were lost in the blaze. Petsch said the fire destroyed a lot of fences in the area, but the only structure burned was a camper shell.
“There was a lot of fence,” he said. “From the sounds of it, there was a camper, pick-up topper or something like that that was lost. There was a camper shell or something like that. That’s all that was lost that you could call a structure.”
If people are working in dry fields, Petsch said they should be aware of their surroundings and consider carrying some water with them in the event that a spark could start a fire.
“If you’re going to be working and doing something that is possibly going to cause sparks, or even if you have vehicles out in some of that grass, it could start a fire,” he said. “You want to try to be careful of where you park, and if you have to do some work, try to pre-plan a little bit just in case so you could try to get something put out pretty quick.
“I think there are a lot of farmers and ranchers that have a lot of water trucks and whatnot just so they can try to put them out before fire departments get there. I think if it’s just a small area, and it’s just a little spark that kicks up a little flame, if you have the means, go ahead and try to put it out immediately. If it gets away, go ahead and call the fire department as quickly as possible.”
