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Officials put out Rifle brush fire

By Carrie ClickWestern Garfield County Bureau EditorRIFLE Rifle Fire Protection firefighters made quick work of a two and a half acre brush fire that erupted behind Rifle High School Friday afternoon.Huge, billowing clouds of smoke could be seen coming from a field just east of Rifle High School around 4 p.m.Rifle Fire Protection operations chief Kevin Costanzo said it took about 15 minutes to quell the fire.The blaze was the first brush fire of the year within Rifle city limits, according to Costanzo.Dede Snead, who lives directly below the high school, made a call to dispatch when she saw the flames and smoke on the hill behind her house. I was just out painting a chair for our graduation party when I saw it, said Snead. Snead said she heard the high school had been evacuated, though by the time the fire hit, school was out for the day. Rifle Police officer Diego Pia said he didnt know how the fire started. No, not at all, he answered when asked if police had any idea of who or what started the blaze. There are always kids up there smoking, Snead said. You have to wonder.On the trail behind the school, an empty pack of Marlboro Lights had been tossed in the dirt a common sight, according to Pia. Oh yeah, they are all over here, he said of cigarette remnants, pointing to the burned, smoldering brush around him. No one was hurt, and no structures were damaged by the fire. Contact Carrie Click: 625-3245, ext. 101cclick@postindependent.com


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