Fire levels home southwest of Bear Creek Regional Park

A fire leveled a large home in Colorado Springs’ western foothills Friday evening, sending firefighters on a race to prevent flames from spreading to the surrounding woods and fields and evacuating 24 homes.

The blaze – reportedly at 2855 Stratton Forest Heights, above Cheyenne Mountain High – could be seen from across the city and sent a plume of black smoke just visible against the darkening sky.

The fire destroyed a 10,000-square-foot home that was under construction and unoccupied, awaiting stucco finishing, according to Lt. Jeff Sievers of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. The area is filled with million-dollar homes on sprawling, wooded lots.

No injuries were reported, and there were no reports of damage to other homes.

By 8:20 p.m., the fire was out, and crews were mopping up hot spots and assessing how far embers had blown and the threat to surrounding wildland. 

Firefighters evacuated 24 homes on Stratton Woods View and Stratton Forest Heights and hoped to return residents to their homes by night's end.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department received the call at 6:17 p.m., and the house was fully ablaze by the time they arrived. El Paso County wildfire crews joined in the fight to prevent a substantial wildfire, and 10 of the 20 stations in the city responded to the call.

Officials set up a backup staging area at Cheyenne Mountain High School, with a half-dozen fire trucks, a mobile police command unit and AMR units.

Sievers said firefighters had a difficult time getting to the scene because bystanders had flooded the area's narrow, winding roads.

Investigators planned to work through the night to determine the fire's cause.

Lance Benzel of The Gazette contributed to this story.