Evacuees Flee Wildfires Sweeping Forests

A wildfire burning out of control in the Pike National Forest grew to 4,000 acres Wednesday as one house was destroyed and area residents were told to leave their homes.

The blaze started Tuesday and was burning mostly fir and pine trees Wednesday, Pueblo Interagency Fire Dispatch spokesman Pete Davis said.

Residents of about 75 homes in Deckers and surrounding communities were told to leave Wednesday afternoon, Douglas County sheriff’s Lt. Kim Castanello said.

An additional 300 homes and 20 businesses were threatened by the flames, fire officials said.

The fire, driven by 50 mph winds, traveled about two miles by Wednesday afternoon and jumped across a highway as it moved northeast.

It grew by 2,500 acres between noon and 7 p.m.

Five air tankers, three helicopters and 220 firefighters were called in, but strong winds and steep terrain kept firefighters from battling the fire.

Three campgrounds and some area parks were evacuated and will be closed over Memorial Day weekend.

Two other fires near Nucla in the Uncompahgre National Forest threatened some cabins.

Extra firefighters were being called in.

Several other fires were burning in the West.

In southern Arizona’s Santa Catalina Mountains, crews battled a wind-whipped wildfire that had burned more than 6,800 acres of grass, juniper and mes- quite.

There was no immediate threat to structures, but a pre-evacuation notice was sent to about 150 homeowners.

Pima County sheriff’s Lt. Terry Parrish said half of the 400 cabins are occupied year-round in Summerhaven, a mountaintop community.

“But during the Memorial Day weekend we may have 10,000 people,” he said.

“It’s a lot easier to preclude them than to evacuate them if we have to,” Parrish said.

A highway to Summerhaven was closed to all but full-time residents.

Parrish also said that about 600 children scheduled to attend camps there this weekend might be turned away.

“Until we can be assured that the fire is not going to go up the mountain, we’re not going to open the road,” he said.