This story has been updated to reflect that the U.S. Forest Service does not respond to structure fires.

A cabin fire in the Pike National Forest sent up a black smoke plume that could be seen in Douglas and El Paso counties Sunday afternoon.

Just before 3 p.m. fire crews in both counties received reports of a structure fire in the national forest, northwest of Colorado Springs.

U.S. Forest Service crews don’t respond to structure fires, so crews from Larkspur and Palmer Lake made the trek into the foothills to find the source of the smoke, said division chief Charles Walden of the Larkspur Fire Protection District.

The privately owned cabin was west of Interstate 25, about 7 to 10 miles from the Greenland exit, Walden said. But heavy snow on the ground in the area – 3 to 6 feet in some places – and a narrow, mountain road made for slow going for the fire crews. Crews from at least four agencies responded – including Larkspur, Palmer Lake, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and crews from the Jackson 105 Fire Protection District in Sedalia.

“By the time we got there, the homeowner was looking at embers,” Walden said. “So there wasn’t anything that we could do.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he added. The fire did not spread beyond the cabin, Walden said.