Fire sparks on Colorado's Fort Carson military base

Firefighters on the the Fort Carson military base responded to a fire that began about 1 p.m. behind Patriot Elementary School. At the time, it was approximately 10-acres but putting off a lot of smoke that could be seen throughout Colorado Springs.

An update from firefighters at 3:30 p.m. indicated that the fire has burned 106 acres and  is 20% contained. Firefighters called the fire "under control," but said that they will monitor it throughout the night. High winds are a concern with this fire. The military base has plans to do a couple of controlled burns today, but those were cancelled due to windy conditions. There is no word on how it started.

Patriot Elementary school was evacuated, but the school is on spring break so no students were in the building. Sam Houston Loop within the Dakota Ridge subdivision is under pre-evacuation orders as a precaution. Both Cheyenne Mountain Child Development Center and Patriot School Age Services were evacuated to the youth center. Gate 1 of the base was closed to inbound traffic, and only emergency vehicles were being allowed to go outbound.

Fire fighters from Cimarron Hills, Hwy 115, Security, Fountain, Monument, Stratmoor Hills, and Colorado Springs all responded to help put out the fire before it got out of control.