Lightning-caused fire scorches 700 acres of dry brush west of Glenrock

DOUGLAS (WNE) — Lightning struck a field west of Glenrock the night of July 10, and the ensuing fire torched 700 acres before firefighters contained it early the next morning. 

The lightning-caused fire began at 9:24 p.m. and consumed mostly sagebrush and other dried shrubs and grass. It spread quickly due to the dry conditions and the frequently changing winds. 

“Dry conditions and lightning don’t mix,” Converse County Emergency Management Coordinator Russ Dalgarn said. 

Fortunately, no livestock or structures were damaged by the fire. 

Only a few minutes after the fire began, emergency services began to receive calls, as at that point the fire was visible from I-25. 

Glenrock Fire, a Bureau of Land Management unit and Converse County Rural Fire responded quickly to contain the fire with help from road groomers or blades, one from Wild West Construction, as well two county blades and water trucks. 

The fire was contained at 3:05 a.m.; however, cleanup took several hours into the early morning of Friday. 

Later July 11, a helicopter mapped out the fire perimeter at 700 acres, running across state and private land. 

The Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department has extinguished between five and eight brush fires since the start of May, according to Chief Shon Lindsey.

These brush fires are common and “will only get worse,” he said, but people can help prevent these fires by keeping their grass mowed and trees trimmed, Lindsey said.