Wildfire Forces Evacuation of School, Homes Near Breckenridge, Colorado

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) -- Summit High School and nearby houses were evacuated Monday when a 20-acre wildfire began moving toward the buildings, fire officials said.

The number of people evacuated was not immediately available, and it was not clear how near the flames were to the buildings.

''All primary resources are focused on structures because (the fire) is headed toward about 20 houses,'' Rachel Flood of the Lake Dillon Fire Authority told the Summit Daily News.

Fire crews were hosing down the homes, she said.

The fire, in the mountains about 55 miles southwest of Denver, was about 30 percent contained, Flood said. The cause was not immediately known.

''We were just coming from the peaks trail and we saw it out of nowhere,'' said Rory Best of Breckenridge, who was cycling nearby when he saw the fire. ''We saw a big white cloud and just saw the brown (smoke).''

A 5-acre wildfire was burning in rugged terrain about 8 miles northwest of Colorado Springs, but no structures were threatened and no evacuations were ordered.

A heavy air tanker, a helicopter, two single-engine air tankers and 25 ground firefighters were on the scene Monday, and lookouts were posted around the blaze overnight. The fire was 10 percent contained.

Fire officials were monitoring a 900-acre wildfire in the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado, but it was being managed for ecological restoration. A Forest Service road was closed and a few hunting camps were evacuated, said Larry Helmerick of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination center.

On the Net:

Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center: www.FS.FED.us/R2/Fire/RMACC.html