Firefighters pulling back, bracing for high winds Thursday

CONIFER, Colo. - Short-handed crews were pulling back from the lines of a 6,700-acre wildfire in the foothills southwest of Denver Wednesday night, bracing for a ''red flag'' day of hot, dry winds Thursday.

''We still haven't gotten as many firefighters as we need to be able to run 24 hours,'' said Karen Miranda Gleason, a spokeswoman for the fire management team. ''We want to put fresh, rested crews on the fire tomorrow. We think that's the best chance we have of preventing any spread.''

More than 1,100 firefighters attacked two wildfires that have destroyed about 48 structures, at least 36 of them homes, and burned 13,000 acres in the Rocky Mountain foothills northwest and southwest of Denver.

At least 800 people had been evacuated, not including residents of three rural communities that were being evacuated Wednesday night.

Many of the evacuees watched from ridges and roads as planes dropped fire retardant and helicopters dumped water on the flames.

By Wednesday evening, the Hi Meadow Fire about 35 miles southwest of Denver had burned 6,700 acres, destroyed 36 homes and damaged one other home in subdivisions built into the steep mountainside.

The Hi Meadow Fire was 10 percent contained Wednesday night, disappointing fire managers, who had hoped for 25 percent containment. Miranda Gleason said the fire probably would not be contained until June 25.

Thursday's forecast called for temperatures in the 80s, humidity of 10 percent or less and strong winds - a ''red flag'' warning for firefighters. ''That's pretty much the worst in terms of firefighting,'' Miranda Gleason said.

In the tree-lined canyons east of Rocky Mountain National Park, about 500 firefighters worked into the night Wednesday to keep the Bobcat Fire from spreading north toward about 200 homes. The fire, which burned about 6,600 acres and destroyed at least 12 buildings, was about 15 percent contained. But wind gusts of up to 70 mph were forecast Thursday.

The Hi Meadows Fire was caused by lightning and the Bobcat Fire was caused by a campfire, officials said late Wednesday.

About 625 firefighters struggled to contain the Hi Meadow Fire and more were on the way, said Miranda Gleason.

''Nationally in the wildfire community, we've been experiencing shortages in all types of personnel,'' she said. ''This is something that is getting a little worse each year and we've certainly seen it this year.''

Many homeowners received little notice when the flames flared Monday. People fled with what items they could gather in an hour or less.

''My smoke alarms were going off the smoke was so thick,'' said Chris Brock. ''I was watering the house, grabbing more stuff, putting it in the truck.'' She let two horses out of their corral and brought three dogs with her down the mountainside.

Elaine McGhee, one of several residents allowed to return briefly to their homes east of Rocky Mountain National Park Wednesday, said the ground was charred in places, but her house was untouched.

''This is the best thing they could have done, to let homeowners come up,'' McGhee said.

In a related development, firefighters quickly doused a 6-acre wildfire that broke out in Eldorado Canyon near Boulder Wednesday morning. No homes were destroyed and no injuries were reported.

Authorities estimated it will cost $3.5 million to control the fire southwest of Denver, but had no estimate for the northern Colorado fire.

Record-breaking heat that started in May and lack of rain have created tinderbox conditions across Colorado and prompted earlier-than-normal fire warnings. The mountain snowpack, which feeds the state's rivers and fills its dams, is 86 percent below average.

Elsewhere, erratic wind fanned two wildfires in northern New Mexico. A lightning-caused fire near Questa had burned 1,000 acres by Wednesday, while a 500-acre fire near Mora led authorities to urge 33 families to get out.

And in Northern California, a fire pushed by gusty wind and triple-digit temperatures had burned through 2,500 acres on hillsides in Napa Valley. Forty homes were evacuated Tuesday.

The fire season is shaping up as the worst since 1996, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho. It began more than a month ago with blazes engulfing areas of Florida and the Southwest, most notably at Los Alamos, N.M.

Some 44,300 fires covering more than 1.2 million acres have been recorded nationwide so far, with drought conditions getting worse in the West.

---

On the Net:

National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office map: http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/fire/himeadow4.jpg

Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Group: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/rmcghome.htm