Courtesy: Aaron McLaughlin
BOULDER COUNTY - A fire that jumped Highway 119 during strong wind gusts on Thursday afternoon is now knocked down, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Department.
PHOTOS: BOULDER COUNTY FIRE
The fire broke out near 63rd Street and Highway 119, near the IBM campus, around 3:30 p.m.
Investigators say that a power pole went down, blocking 119, but that is now off the highway.
Firefighters are on scene in mop-up operations and say the fire was 100 percent contained by 5 p.m.
Boulder Fire sent a reverse emergency notification to approximately 1,300 homes. No evacuations were ordered, but people could have evacuated voluntarily.
The voluntary evacuation area was from the Highway 119 east to 79th Street and Lookout Road north to Niwot Road.
The fire spread to about 45 acres. Authorities say it started on City of Boulder Open Space and property owned by IBM, near a transformer just outside of Tom Watson Park.
Authorities say they are still investigating the cause.
Both directions of Highway 119 were closed from 63rd to Highway 52 because of the fire. Northbound lanes reopened just after 5 p.m.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)