US - Fires force evacuations in Colorado

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Fires force evacuations

in Colorado

Drought, high winds also

spread flames in Oklahoma, Texas

Sunday,

January 8, 2006; Posted: 6:08 p.m. EST

(23:08 GMT)

 

AGUILAR, Colorado (AP) -- Wind-whipped wildfires destroyed at

least five houses in southern Colorado and forced the evacuation of several hundred residents Sunday, authorities said.

Two fires had burned over 5,400 acres in Huerfano and Las

Animas counties, not far from the New

Mexico line. One of them had

started as a controlled burn earlier in the week that flared up again despite efforts

to keep it down.

Wind gusting up to 50 mph prevented authorities from using

airplanes to drop slurry on the fires, said Pam Martinez of the Huerfano County

Sheriff's office.

Firefighters were investigating the extent of the damage,

and watching for more flareups. The land around Aguilar, a town of about 1,000

residents, is covered with sagebrush and grass, and the nearby hills are dotted

with pinon and ponderosa pine.

" This just points out that we are very dry in Colorado even though it's winter, " said Barb

Timock, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman. " No matter where we are in Colorado, but especially along

the Front Range, we ought to be thinking about being extremely careful with fires

outdoors. "

Drought conditions and gusting wind have spread dozens of

wildfires across, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico over the past two weeks. At least 475 homes have been destroyed

by the winter blazes, and five people have been killed.

In Oklahoma, high wind and unseasonably warm temperatures created prime conditions

again Sunday for grass fires.

Firefighters in southern Oklahoma were trying taming one

wildfire that had already charred about 900 acres near Coalgate, said Richard

Reuse, a spokesman for a state command center.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/08/wildfires.ap/index.html

 

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