A driver on Highway 9 early this morning reported a mystery “fireball” burning on the pavement within feet of dry, brown grass.
Summit County Sheriff’s Office confirms the fireball was reported around 2:30 a.m. between Breckenridge and Frisco. Firefighters and deputies scrambled into action and quickly extinguished the flaming ball.
Sheriff’s body-cam footage shows a deputy dousing the flaming ball with a fire extinguisher as a hose crew arrives to help. Says the deputy, “It appears to be something fallen off a truck.”
Early investigation shows the ball was some kind of construction material, possibly insulation, according to sheriff Jamie FitzSimons.
“It was a huge ball of fire in the middle of Highway 9,” FitzSimons told Krystal 93’s Tom Fricke on air today. “Thank god our deputy got there with a fire extinguisher and extinguished this thing.”
Still unknown is where the fireball came from and who set it on fire. The investigation is ongoing.
The sheriff’s office is looking now for witnesses. If you saw anything suspicious on Highway 9 between Frisco and Breckenridge around 2:30 a.m., call non-emergency dispatch at 970-668-8600.
Copper smoke sighting
After sunup this morning deputies and firefighters investigated reports of smoke near the recpath between Frisco and Copper Mountain.
At 10:30 a.m. the sheriff’s office confirms it was fog rolling off the beaver ponds in Tenmile Canyon.
Fireball in a fire ban
For three weeks now fire danger in Summit County has been rated extreme with a Stage 2 fire ban in effect. Campfires, charcoal grills and other open flames are banned. Last week the sheriff’s office wrote four tickets for fire ban violations, including one for smoking and two for welding.
Deputies investigated 10 suspicious campfires and found all of them were legal propane fire pits. Any flame with an off switch is still allowed during a Stage 2 ban.