Residents of an area near Durango who were driven from their homes by the are returning home.
Residents of some of the 170 homes evacuated returned to their homes Saturday night. As of 8 a.m. Sunday, all residents were allowed to return, said Chris Barth, spokesman for Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black.
The fire, which began Wednesday, scorched 406 acres and is 89 percent contained. “Firefighters are confident they are going to be able to continue to make excellent progress,” Barth said.
The blaze began in a structure on private land and spread quickly, burning through private, state and federal land.
Dry, hot weather and strong breezes spread the flames, and Durango officials decided to push back the city-sponsored fireworks display to a later, safer date.
“We have received the fireworks, so we will look to put on a show at a date to be determined later this year or early next year,” the city announced Friday.
The temperature in the area has cooled from the mid-80s last week and are expected to be in the low 70s through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Wind has died down, with breezes of up to 15 mph Sunday.
