A wildfire near Rulison destroyed at least one house Friday and threatened several others as the blaze moved through parched grass, sage brush and pinon trees, forcing the evacuation of up to 150 homes.
Two other structures were also destroyed but firefighters were unable to immediately determine if they were houses, or outbuildings such as barns, said Lee Martens of the Rifle Fire Protection District.
“It got real bad, real fast,” Martens said. “They are evacuating like crazy. We have people going back into the area to help family members get out.”
Most of the evacuations are from the Rulison area, where houses are on parcels ranging from 5 to 35 acres.
Initial reports estimated the fire’s size at 80 acres. Martens said the wildfire appeared to have moved at least 2 miles from where it started.
A heavy air tanker, which is capable of dropping up to 2,500 gallons of fire retardant, and three single-engine air tankers, along with two helicopters were battling the flames, according to Lee Ann Loupe, spokeswoman for the federal Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management.
At least 40 firefighters were on the scene, she said.
The fire was burning south of Interstate 70 about 160 miles west of Denver.
Martens said a thunderstorm moved through the area Thursday night with lots of lightning and little rain. A cause has not been determined.
