BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Investigators believe a wildfire that forced the evacuation of about 400 homes near Boulder was sparked by a campfire in an apparent transient camp.
Authorities said early on that they suspected the fire was somehow human-caused and that hikers and campers frequented the area where it erupted on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the day after evacuees were allowed back to their homes and the fire was contained, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said investigators pinpointed the origin of the fire to a hastily built fire ring on a city-owned open space park just outside city limits. No suspects have been identified.
The fire spread to about 70 acres but no homes were destroyed. It cost about $725,000 to fight.
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This story has been corrected to say that the fire forced the evacuation of about 400 homes, not 400 people.
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