merelygifted:

Stephen Martin says he was using his jeep to clear trails for him and his wife to run on his 20 acre lot when he first saw the smoke

Stephen Martin says he was using his jeep to clear trails to run on his 20-acre lot when he first saw the smoke on Thursday in Security Widefield.

“I turned around and I saw the smoke and I freaked out knowing it was definitely coming from my property,” Martin explained.

Martin says he was racing back towards his home when he first saw the flaming patrol car.

“So, I came back up here. I raced around the corner and saw a car on fire. It kind of blew my mind. I didn’t understand what was going on,” Martin added.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy was called to the area on a report of a “suspicious vehicle”. The deputy’s patrol car got stuck in a ditch on the property and the catalytic converter beneath the car sparked what would become a 182-acre fire. The suspicious vehicle in question belonged to Martin, and he was on his own property.  …