Crews respond to fire at Turkey Track Shooting Area; Locals calling for increased accountability
Celeste Springer
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirms they responded to a wildfire near the Turkey Track Shooting area Friday.
The area is along the Douglas County-Teller County border.
Our prior reporting shows the area has seen its fair share of fires in the past. Previous reports include:
Popular Teller County shooting range reopens after fire reaches 100% containment (Sept. 2024)
Turkey Track Fire north of Woodland Park now 100% contained (April 2025)
Fire sparked near Turkey Tracks shooting area in Teller County (May 2025)
“We’ve been lucky. Lucky is not a way to live.”
Dan Voth chose to retire from his military career in a small community in the southern part of Douglas County. Since moving into his home a little more than five years ago, Voth and his wife have noticed one area nearby keeps catching on fire.
“There’s somewhere between 7 and 10 fires a year [at the Turkey Tracks Shooting Area],” Voth said.
A Douglas County Deputy at the scene said the fire was kept below 10 acres, but Friday’s blaze is part of a larger trend.
“Have you driven through there and seen the trash and the destruction that irresponsible shooters have done when using that range? It’s bad. Any of the signage that the Forest Service has put up is pretty much all been shot and destroyed,” Voth said.
Voth, a gun advocate himself, said a big reason for the constant fires is poor management of the area and irresponsible shooters using the area.
KRDO13 wasn’t allowed to go up to the shooting area itself, but the lower parking lot was littered with food wrappers and discarded alcohol containers.
Voth says up at the shooting range, it’s more than just trash. This picture is live ammunition that Voth collected in one day walking the range.
Voth is not alone. KRDO13 spoke with another local outdoorsman named Wyatt Farnum.
“I took a drive there about a month ago and was absolutely disgusted by the amount of trash and so many people shooting with zero safety enforcement. It’s turned into a local landfill and a public safety hazard. I truly didn’t feel safe driving down the trail,” Farnum said.
Voth says he wants to see something done about the conditions at the shooting area, either by Douglas County or the Forest Service. He also points to Manitou Lake down the road, which Voth says doesn’t have the same littering problems.