The Front Range is dry. Denver and its surroundings in moderate drought. It also gets windy on the plains. It's a dangerous combination, especially when you add humans, and here's your proof:
"Get ready to get mobile -- get ready to get mobile," you can hear one of the South Metro firefighters warn his colleague as a gust of wind picks up the flames of what they're calling the Ponderosa Fire.
Now, we don't know what started this fire, which burned in Parker at the southeast end of the metro. However, brushfires almost always are a result of lightning, which seems unlikely on a day like today.
Frequent causes of fires include discarded cigarettes, target shooting, campfires, backyard fires and heat from vehicles and lawnmowers, as Jesse Paul reported in this super-helpful guide.
The fire now is fully contained, according to South Metro. But, as always, a bad change in the winds could have produced a much different result.
