The 100-acre fire chewed through hills of scattered pine and sent smoke pouring over Denver's far southern suburbs. Evacuation orders affected 3,000 homes and businesses. Also, 21 busloads of students were evacuated from an elementary school north of Castle Rock.
``You can't see the exact point of the fire, but you can hear it, see it and smell it,'' said Dan Allen, manager of the Celtic Crossing Irish Pub about a mile from the flames.
South Metro Fire spokeswoman Robin Adair said air tankers were brought in because there are no hydrants in the area.
The fire was one of two major blazes that erupted north and south of Denver, pushed by winds signaling the arrival of a cold front.
No injuries were reported, nor have authorities determined the cause of either fire.
The second blaze, roaring through tinder-dry forests and pine-covered hillsides northwest of Boulder, scorched more than 500 acres in a matter of hours.
Some 300 people were forced to evacuate the area around tiny Jamestown, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said, and the blaze threatened several homes and other structures. Evacuation shelters had been set up in Boulder.
Flames leaping 100 feet into the air and fanned by winds up to 60 mph pushed firefighters off the front lines, while a vast plume of smoke spread across the plains and settled over Boulder, shrouding the college town.
``The wind is just driving this thing and creating a very dangerous situation,'' said James Burrus, Boulder County's information officer. ``Until the wind dies down, there's no way we can even get crews on the ground to do any meaningful firefighting.''
He said 100 firefighters were battling the blaze, and officials had asked for nearly 200 more.
The area was low on firefighters and equipment because many have been sent to help battle wildfires in California, said Bruce Mygatt, fire chief of the Boulder Rural Fire Protection District.
``We're not dangerously low, but we are low on personnel and smaller truck apparatus for these type of fires,'' he said. ``For now, they seem to have ample resources up there.''
