Calm Winds Slow Colo. Wildfires

Calmer winds helped firefighters slow the spread Monday of a 250-acre wildfire that forced 2,400 people to flee their homes in the pine-covered foothills west of Denver.

The blaze had come within a quarter-mile of at least one house and within two miles of subdivisions in the area. Officials estimated the fire was only 10% contained.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office evacuated everyone within two miles of the fire Sunday, calling 1,700 homes in about five subdivisions. The blaze is about 25 miles from Denver.

Steve Nemeth and his wife, whose home is about a mile from the fire, grabbed pictures, clothes and their dog and cat when the evacuation order came. On Monday, they waited at a shelter.

“There’s a lot of sentimental stuff we can’t replace. We got the family together. That’s what counts,” he said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Also Monday, grass fires outside Colorado Springs, Colo., burned more than 6,000 acres and caused the local airport to adjust flight patterns to avoid thick plumes of smoke. The fires also closed roads, threatened structures and forced the evacuation of some farm animals.

Lt. Melissa Hartman, spokeswoman for El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, said the blaze was contained in about three hours.

After a dry winter, more than 400 wildfires have burned about 15,600 acres in Colorado this year, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center of the National Interagency Fire Center.

In New Mexico, meanwhile, a fast-moving wildfire in the Santa Fe National Forest burned up to 700 acres within several hours Monday. Residents in Dalton and Pecos canyons were asked to leave, fire information officer Claudia Standish said. Several campgrounds and about 400 homes are in the area, state police said.

Fred Herrera learned of the fire while at work in Santa Fe. He rushed to his home and spotted flames on the top of a nearby ridge.

Erratic wind fanned the flames, sending thick billowing clouds of gray smoke into the sky about 15 miles east of Santa Fe. Fire information officer Christa Orozco said the blaze was caused by humans, but the exact cause was not known. Also in New Mexico, a 15,400-acre wildfire near Mayhill has destroyed 13 homes and 27 garages or other buildings and was 75% contained Monday night, officials said.

It was started accidentally last week by a man who later committed suicide.