BELLVUE, Colo. | Firefighters are making progress on a 92-square-mile wildfire in northern Colorado that has destroyed more homes than any other in state history, but more residents were warned Tuesday to be ready to leave because of a spot fire that ignited near the main fire.
Smoke plumes rise from the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins, Colo., on Monday, June 18, 2012. The wildfire has now burned about 90 square miles and destroyed more than 180 homes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Eric Lutzens) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT
A helicopter lifts off after taking on water to drop on the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins, Colo., on Monday, June 18, 2012. The wildfire has now burned about 90 square miles and destroyed more than 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
A helicopter lifts off after taking on water to drop on the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins, Colo., on Monday, June 18, 2012. The wildfire has now burned about 90 square miles and destroyed more than 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Smoke billows from the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins, Colo., on Monday, June 18, 2012. The wildfire has now burned about 90 square miles and destroyed more than 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
The sun sets amidst smoke from the High Park Fire near Bellvue, Colo., on Monday, June 18, 2012. The wildfire has now burned about 90 square miles and destroyed more than 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Emily Katz from Overland Park, Kansas pets one of the nearly 140 horses that were evacuated from the Springer Fire area on Monday, June 18, 2012. Katz works with the horses at Sanborn Camps near Florissant and was evacuated from her camp on Sunday. The horses are being boarded at the Teller County Fair Grounds in Cripple Creek, Colorado. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)
Will Ostendorf and Jenny Hartman give hay to the nearly 140 horses that were evacuated from the Springer Fire area on Monday, June 18, 2012. Ostendorf and Hartman worked with the horses at Sanborn Camps and were evacuated from their camp on Sunday. The horses are being boarded at the Teller County Fair Grounds in Cripple Creek. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)
Smoke billows from the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins, Colo., on Monday, June 18, 2012. The wildfire has now burned about 90 square miles and destroyed more than 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
FILE – In this Friday, June 15,2012 file photo Army National Guardsmen Spc. Rachel Cornett, right, and Sgt. Timothy Apodaca let a fire truck pass their road block leading to the Poudre Canyon on the High Park wildfire west of Fort Collins, Colo. Colorado has some of the tightest restrictions on news media coverage of wildfires, keeping reporters miles away from burn areas and erecting barriers to access to officials in the know and as well as victims. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski,File)
FILE – In this June 12,2012 file photo Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, right, speaks to reporters during a news briefing in Bellvue, Colo., about the efforts of firefighters battling the wildfire west of Fort Collins, Colo. Colorado has some of the tightest restrictions on news media coverage of wildfires, keeping reporters miles away from burn areas and erecting barriers to access to officials in the know and as well as victims. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski,File)
FILE – In this May 2008 file photo showing San Jose Mercury News photographer Gary Reyes photographing a wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, Calif. Colorado has some of the tightest restrictions on news media coverage of wildfires, keeping reporters miles away from burn areas and erecting barriers to access to officials in the know and as well as victims. California, by contrast, allows media reporting on active wildfires inside the wildfire zones, at reporters’ own risk. (AP Photo/Paul /Sakuma,File)
This June 15, 2012 photo shows Michael Maher at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colo. Deputies arrested Maher, 30, of Denver, Sunday, June 17, 2012, on charges including theft and impersonating a firefighter. The sheriff’s department said Maher was driving through the fire zone with phony firefighter credentials and a stolen government license plate. His truck was later seen near a bar in Laporte, and investigators said they found a gun and stolen property in the vehicle. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT
A plume of smoke rises from the High Park wildfire near Livermore, Colo., on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The wildfire has burned over 180 homes. The large blaze west of Fort Collins was 50 percent contained after firefighters labored in temperatures in the 90s to extend lines around the fire Monday. Expected strong winds didn’t materialize, but gusts of around 30 mph were forecast Tuesday along with more hot, dry weather. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Colorado Army National Guard Spc. Randall Orvis stops a uncoming vehicle so a water tanker can pass at a road block on the High Park wildfire near Bellvue, Colo., on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The National Guard has been assisting the Sheriff with road blocks. The wildfire has burned over 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Fire crowns in the trees on the High Park wildfire near Livermore, Colo., on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The wildfire has burned over 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Fire crowns in the trees on the High Park wildfire near Livermore, Colo., on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The wildfire has burned over 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Fire crowns in the trees on the High Park wildfire near Livermore, Colo., on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The wildfire has burned over 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Fire burns in the forest on the High Park wildfire near Livermore, Colo., on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The wildfire has burned over 180 homes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
The large blaze west of Fort Collins was 50 percent contained after firefighters labored in temperatures in the 90s to extend lines around the fire Monday. Expected strong winds didn’t materialize, but gusts of around 30 mph were forecast Tuesday along with more hot, dry weather.
The fire already has destroyed at least 189 homes since it was sparked by lightning June 9. Incident commander Bill Hahnenberg said it could be weeks or even months before it’s finally controlled.
The wildfire is one of several across the West forcing people to flee, including another blaze in Colorado that has driven out nuns living in a monastery, Boy Scouts at camp and residents of about 150 homes.
The Protection of the Holy Virgin Monastery was evacuated as a precaution Sunday after the fire started in the foothills west of Colorado Springs.
A nun who returned to feed the chickens at the remote monastery Tuesday said the fire was about two miles from the site. She said sacred items from the chapel, including a chalice, along with insurance papers and historical documents were removed Sunday as slurry bombers flew over the property.
The fire has burned nearly 2 square miles, and fire managers said it still has the potential to grow in an area where logs are drier than pine boards from a lumber yard.
In California, firefighters were able to contain 75 percent of a nearly 1,000-acre wildfire in mountainous eastern San Diego County despite gusty winds that kicked up Tuesday and low humidity levels.
It remained calm around the fire east of Campo from Monday night into Tuesday despite wind warnings, and firefighters were able to increase containment from 30 percent to 75 percent, said Capt. Mike Mohler of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
More than 900 firefighters were battling the rural blaze Tuesday afternoon. Full containment was expected Wednesday night.
One mobile home and recreational vehicle were burned, and 150 homes have been evacuated. Evacuation orders remained in effect Tuesday because of road conditions and emergency equipment in the area, Mohler said.
One firefighter was treated for minor heat exhaustion and returned to duty. The cause of the wildfire, which started Sunday, is under investigation.
Elsewhere:
— In Idaho, a fast-moving wildfire near Mountain Home destroyed six homes and several outbuildings Monday evening. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Mallory Eils said 25 to 30 homes in the area were evacuated before firefighters got the blaze under control. The fire burned about 150 acres. Its cause was unknown.
— In Wyoming, more experienced fire managers and crews took over the fight against a wildfire burning in a rough, mountainous area of the Medicine Bow National Forest. The fire has burned about four square miles since Sunday. About 40 residents of the area’s scattered ranches and cabins have been advised to evacuate. There was no containment of the fire as of Tuesday afternoon, and its cause remained under investigation.
— In New Mexico, firefighters were taking advantage of favorable weather conditions to battle a wildfire that has destroyed 242 homes and businesses. More than 1,100 firefighters remained in Ruidoso as they fight to hold the Little Bear Fire that is now 60 percent contained.
Another fire broke out Monday and burned three structures along a 5-mile stretch of the San Juan River in far northwestern New Mexico. The fire, burning east of Bloomfield, has charred about 350 acres and is 50 percent contained.
A fire in the Gila Wilderness, already the largest in state history, grew another 1,000 acres to 463 square miles and is 80 percent contained.
— In Arizona, firefighters were building containment lines around a 3,700-acre blaze on the Tonto National Forest to try to protect electric transmission lines that provide power to the state’s major metropolitan areas. The fire was 15 percent contained Tuesday.
— In Nevada, a 10,000-acre wildfire north of Ely was 15 percent contained. Aerial mapping showed the fire was smaller than thought.
— In northwest Nebraska, a fire has charred an estimated 5,000 acres in Sioux County. Fire officials said it was 50 percent to 65 percent contained Tuesday afternoon.
— In Hawaii, Maui firefighters continue to monitor a wind-driven wildfire that prompted an evacuation and damaged three homes. Fire officials said Tuesday the upcountry Kula fire had burned about six acres and was 90 percent contained. The fire started Monday.
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