LITTLETON, Colo. --
The wind and rugged terrain are the main challenges for fire crews working to contain a fast-moving brush fire in southern Jefferson County.
The Wadsworth Ridge fire has grown from 10 acres Friday night to about 250 acres Saturday, and fire crews said it could burn for several more days.
Firefighters had to evacuate 50 horses from the area early Saturday morning after a flare-up.
But crews said the fire is currently located entirely on Lockheed Martin property and not jeopardizing any homes or buildings.
Still, neighbors in the nearby Trail Mark subdivision have been watching as it spreads across the ridge closer to their homes.
"It's a little disconcerting not to know whether it could change direction and come in the direction of this subdivision," said Mike Cranmer, as he and his wife Kathy watched the fire fight from their back yard.
"You can see the fire trucks going up the road," said Kathy Cranmer. "There was just a steady stream of them last night. It looked like Highway 470 rush hour for a while."
More than 50 firefighters were letting Wadsworth Ridge burn Saturday, concentrating on digging trenches, cutting lines and creating a perimeter.
Crews did send a helicopter to dump water taken from a lake on Lockheed Martin property onto an area too steep for firefighters to access.
"Because we are letting it burn, I want to stress to people that there will be smoke. There will be flames that will be visible to the Denver metro area," said Michelle French with West Metro Fire Rescue.
French said the rugged, dry, steep terrain is dangerous for firefighters, especially with erratic winds, which is part of the reason they are trying to contain the fire, not fight it.
She said it's also good for the ecology to allow the fire to burn the tall, dry grass and shrubs to clear fuel from the area.
Investigators are still trying to determine what started the fire.
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