Repeated Lone Tree brush fires raise concerns over power lines

Repeated brush fires in Lone Tree’s RidgeGate open space have turned a March grass fire into a wider question about how well utility corridors and wildfire safeguards are holding up along one of Douglas County’s fastest-growing edges. The first blaze burned about 20 acres near South Peoria Street and RidgeGate Parkway, and firefighters said crews reached the scene within six minutes of the 3:20 p.m. call. No structures were threatened, but westbound RidgeGate Parkway was temporarily closed near Meridian Village Parkway while South Metro Fire Rescue knocked down the fire.

A second brush fire in the same open-space area within three months renewed concern among nearby residents about power lines and an Xcel Energy substation. The cause of the March 21 fire was still under investigation, and South Metro Fire Rescue public information officer Jenn Abraham said the power lines in the area added to the concern during suppression efforts. Parker resident Frann Beg said he was worried about what repeated fires could mean as the region moved toward the hotter May and June fire season.

The fires are landing in a part of Lone Tree that has grown up around open space, roads and utility infrastructure all at once. RidgeGate is a 3,500-acre planned development that already houses nearly 5,000 residents and is expected to grow to about 30,000 residents and 50,000 jobs. That makes every brush fire near the corridor more than a nuisance: it is a test of whether vegetation management, power-line safety and response times are keeping pace with development.

Lone Tree’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, finalized in May 2025, was built with the City of Lone Tree, Douglas County, South Metro Fire Rescue, the Colorado State Forest Service, South Suburban Parks and Recreation District, Rampart Range Metro District and The Ember Alliance. The plan reflects the reality that open space in and around RidgeGate sits inside an actively managed wildfire-risk landscape, where agencies must coordinate on fuel reduction, access and emergency response.

Xcel Energy says it has invested nearly $1.5 billion in wildfire mitigation in Colorado since launching its Wildfire Mitigation Program in 2020. The company also says that during extreme wildfire conditions it may use Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings or Public Safety Power Shutoffs, a deliberate decision to turn off power in certain areas to prevent wildfires during especially dangerous weather.

For Lone Tree and Douglas County, the core issue now is accountability. Residents have already seen one 20-acre fire, a second flare-up in the same open space and a response that put a road closure on RidgeGate Parkway into motion. As summer fire weather settles in, the question is whether the safeguards around RidgeGate are strong enough for a corridor that is still building out around homes, parks and critical utility lines.