Electrocuted bird sparks Colorado brush fire

Fire danger in the area is ‘VERY HIGH’ according to the West Metro Fire and Rescue

Fire services say the three-acre blaze started when a bird hit a power line and was electrocuted (Denver7/YouTube)

A Colorado brush fire was caused by a bird hitting a power line and catching alight, sparking what would become a three-acre wildfire.

In an update posted to the service’s official Facebook page, West Metro Fire and Rescue explained that the fire, which sparked on 31 July, started on private land in Morrison just southwest of Denver, but “firefighters were able to get it quickly contained and mopped up”.

When an X user asked the service how common a brush fire caused by an electrocuted bird is, it responded, saying, “Well, it happens. Not all the time, but, it happens.”

A video shared along with the statement shows crews spraying down and cutting away the dry, burned shrubbery to prevent the fire from restarting.

Fire services say the three-acre blaze started when a bird hit a power line and was electrocuted (Denver7/YouTube)

The area had been experiencing hot and dry weather in the days leading up to the fire, with temperatures reaching 97°F the day before.

This significantly increases the risk of a wildfire. “It’s dry out there, and fire danger is VERY HIGH in West Metro’s district,” wrote West Metro Fire and Rescue.

Since the fire, the temperature around Morrison and Denver has continued to be worryingly high but is forecast to dip this week to approximately 77°F plus a few much needed showers, according to AccuWeather.

Colorado firefighters have been busy over the past week, with several large blazes to tackle.

As of 5 August, one person has been killed, 10,000 acres have been burned, and thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate.

This also comes as Californian fire services are battling one of the state’s largest wildfires, which was started by a car fire in Bidwell Park on 31 July.

According to data from the National Centres for Environmental Information, there were just over 20,000 wildfires in the US between January and June this year – only slightly less than half of last year’s total of over 55,000 fires.