COLORADO SPRINGS – A Fort Carson investigation confirmed that live-fire training sparked a fire that burned 3,300 acres and two homes in the rural Midway Ranch community this month, the base announced Monday.

The decision to hold training on March 16, the day the fire started, has been criticized by many residents because the National Weather Service in Pueblo had warned of high fire danger that day.

“The Army is supposed to protect the American public, but it for sure doesn’t feel like we’re being protected,” said Samuel Saling, whose home in Midway Ranch was one of more than 250 evacuated during the blaze. “They should have all hands on deck, considering how many troops are stationed there that are trained to deal with this type of situation.”

Fort Carson said it implements many precautionary measures to mitigate the risk of wildland fires on ranges and within the military training areas. The post’s commanding general, Maj. Gen. Randy A. George, said in a statement Monday morning that realistic training exercises for soldiers must be balanced with the safety of the surrounding community.

“Our job is to train our soldiers for combat; train like we’re going to fight, and make sure that they’re ready,” George said. “We owe that to them and every one of their families. But that doesn’t mean that’s more important than the safety of our community that’s right outside the fence, because we don’t think that’s the case. I certainly understand the concerns of the community, which is why we put all these mitigation measures into place.”

On high fire danger days, fire resources are pre-staged and mission orders change, the statement said.

“We were mitigating risk and altering training before the fire and will continue to do so as a result of the fire and what we have learned,” George said.

In the last year, Fort Carson experienced 233 days of medium to extreme fire danger. The weather service had issued a red flag warning for 26 of them.

Following the fire, which was extinguished as of March 22, a change.org campaign was created to demand the post refrain from live-fire training on red-flag days. As of Monday morning, 2,192 people had signed the petition.

Residents who suffered personal injuries and damage to, loss or destruction of property due to the Carson Midway Fire are eligible for compensation through the Fort Carson Claims Office. Those with claims are asked to contact 526-1342. More information can be found at carson.army.mil/LEGAL/claims.html.