RYE, Colo.—A wildfire Thursday forced the evacuation of 18 homes in the Rye area and officials made reverse 911 calls to at least 230 other homes before firefighters were able to contain it.
Residents in all but four homes were allowed back late Thursday as crews mopped up hot spots within 15 scorched acres on the area’s Rattlesnake Mountain, about 125 miles south of Denver, said Laurie Leach, a Pueblo County sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Although the fire burned miles away, the town’s elementary, middle and high schools will be closed Friday as officials inspect it for smoke damage, Leach said.
Several fire departments, as well as a single-engine air tanker responded to the wildfire that at one point jumped from pine tree to pine tree, sending a plume visible in Pueblo 30 miles northeast.
Officials believe the fire was human caused.
