Mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted for a wildland fire that sparked in unincorporated El Paso County near the Pikes Peak International Raceway Saturday afternoon, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said. 

Evacuation orders were announced around 1:30 p.m. for Donner Pass View, Sugar Foot Point, Gold Dust Trail, Vigilante View and other homes in that area. The Sheriff’s Office lifted the orders shortly after 5 p.m. 

The Sweetwater fire had burned 346 acres and was zero percent contained as of about 5 p.m., according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jason Garrett. Ninety personnel from El Paso County and Colorado fire departments are fighting the fire, with Hanover Fire Department serving as the lead agency.  

The fire was human-caused, Garrett said. No arrests have been made, but officers have identified suspects who they say were shooting at a firing range. 

Just before 2 p.m., the fire had reached the north end of the parking lot behind the grandstands of the raceway. By 2:22 p.m., the fire started burning the hillside adjacent to the parking lot and, by a little after 3 p.m., much of the grass on the hillside had burned.

Jeff Lewis and his wife, Kate, were told to evacuate their home that overlooks the raceway. They watched from the media staging area near the raceway entrance as fire crews guarded their home. They evacuated in their pickup truck with their two children in the back seat and four dogs in the pickup bed.

He said they were told to get out of their home immediately. Kate estimated there were 16 firefighters setting up a perimeter near their home to prevent the fire from advancing. By 3:30 p.m., Jeff said one part of the fire had crept close to 300 yards from his home.

“That (warning) was fast. We didn’t even know there was a fire going on when they came to our door,” Jeff Lewis said. “Usually there’s some sore of progression in the warning. That wasn’t there. 

“I mean, what can you do?” he continued. “Look at this wind. It’s super dry out there.”

Colorado Springs is under a red flag warning until 7 p.m. Saturday due to “critical fire weather,” according to the National Weather Service in Pueblo. A storm moving through the mountains is bringing low humidity and strong winds to the plains, blowing dust and making for dangerous fire conditions.

“It is very dangerous to have fires,” Garrett of the Sheriff’s Office said. “Even though there’s not a current fire ban, common sense needs to come into play here. Don’t go outside shooting in dry areas. Don’t start fires in dry areas.”

Several trucks will remain in the area of the Sweetwater fire overnight, according to Hanover Fire Chief Carl Tatum. Firefighters are now working on tightening fire lines as hot spots remain. 

No structures were damaged, and no people were injured from the fire.

The fire is the second on Saturday after firefighters responded to the Four Corners fire at Mount Muscoco this morning.