The Sweetwater Fire burning in El Paso County that prompted mandatory evacuations Saturday afternoon was human caused, officials said. Those evacuations has since been lifted
The fire started just before 12:30 p.m. near Pikes Peak International Raceway. During a press conference, officials announced the fire was sparked by people shooting guns at a range when conditions were unsafe to do so.
He said the investigation is still premature and it's too early to know if the individuals will face any charges. "It could have been a lot worse than what it was," Lewis said."They just made the right calls on where to start. And they started where it first had its ignition and kept moving with it all the way down. So and they were rapid. They were moving."
"People come out here, there's a bomb fire out there, you know, with no care to anybody who lives out here, their property, their lives, and this is what happens. So and it could have been really bad. I'm glad it wasn't. But I think it's something that needs to be brought under the magnifying glass," he said.