Colorado Springs Airport reopens after fire; cause still under investigation

April 19--View Comments

The Colorado Springs Airport reopened as planned early Wednesday morning, a day after flames tore through its roof, destroyed some of its ceiling and brought flights to a standstill.

The airport resumed operations before dawn Wednesday, while construction crews worked behind temporary walls to fix the damage from Monday's late-night blaze, said Aidan Ryan, an airport spokeswoman.

"Everything has gone better than we even expected," Ryan said. "It's been amazing that we had a three-alarm fire, and 24 hours later, we're fully operational."

The fire started on the roof of the terminal just before 11 p.m. Monday, burning into a conference room on the building's west side while nearby propane tanks fueled the flames.

The tanks were used in hand-held propane torches to heat tar as part of a $1.2 million project to repair the airport's roof, which was damaged during a summer 2016 hailstorm, said Greg Phillips, the airport's director of aviation. The work began in December and was to be completed May 1.

Phillips declined to speculate on the cause of the blaze while the Colorado Springs Fire Department continued its investigation. Results could come by the end of the week, a fire spokesman said.

"We're devastated this happened," Phillips said. "At the same time, so proud of our staff."

Also unknown was how much repairs will cost, and how long they will take. Phillips plans to go to City Council early next week seeking money for repairs and renovations, which "could be as much as a few million dollars," he said. Insurance is expected to help with the cost, he said.

Airport officials erected temporary walls around the worst-affected areas on the terminal's top floor, where crews worked around-the-clock to make repairs, Ryan said. Fans also were brought in to dry areas drenched by firefighters.

Novo Coffee and The Bristol Taproom were closed Wednesday, though few other areas of the airport were affected.

A couple airlines had a limited flight schedule Wednesday morning, but the airport's schedule was back to normal by the afternoon, she said.

United Airlines shared a baggage line with American Airlines for much of Wednesday, Ryan said, and it moved its ticketing counter.

Ryan urged travelers with any questions to call their airlines, though she predicted few lingering impacts for passengers.

"Today has gone extremely well," she said.

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