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Fire breaks out at Park County shooting range

The fire broke out at Harris Park Shooting Range near Bailey Thursday afternoon.
Credit: Courtesy Sean Sziklas, Sr.

KUSA — A fire that broke out at the Harris Park Shooting Range near Bailey Thursday afternoon has grown to 15 acres and is 15 percent contained, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service.

Larry Helmerick with the Forest Service said the fire was human-caused, but the exact cause of the fire isn't known as of 8:30 p.m.

Park County Undersheriff Dave Wohlers said there are about 50 homes in the area around the fire that are on high alert - but no one has been ordered to evacuate as of 8:30 p.m. No structures are threatened.

According to Helmerick, drones were interfering with firefighting efforts, keeping air tankers from getting close. He does not know how long the drones interfered with their efforts.

Wohlers told 9NEWS there has been some confusion about what has been told to people via reverse-911. We will update when we know more.

Helmerick said two single-engine air tankers, one large air tanker, one helicopter and numerous other engines and hand crews have been fighting the fire.

When drones get close to a fire, it shuts down air firefighting operations wherever there is a fire. Do not fly a drone near a wildfire - you could potentially make the situation much worse by keeping firefighters from doing their jobs.

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