News

Academy responders assist with Beaver Creek Fire

  • Published
  • By Don Branum
  • Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Air Force Academy Fire Department joined U.S. Forest Service officials responding to a fire that started Aug. 19 northwest of the Academy.

The Academy supported the Forest Service with 13 firefighters over a two-day period to fight the Beaver Creek Fire, Academy Deputy Fire Chief Ken Helgerson said.

Academy firefighters predominantly provided structural protection to homes near the fire, Helgerson said. The fire department also provided two wildland firefighting vehicles to assist with suppression efforts.

The fire response team included a total of 144 firefighters from local agencies, including the Colorado Springs, Larkspur, Tri-Lakes and Palmer Lake fire departments, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, according to Forest Service fire information officer Ralph Bellah.

The Beaver Creek fire burned approximately 100 acres along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains before firefighters and the weather contained and extinguished it Sunday. The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Aug. 25.