Jun 4, 2002 3 min read

CANON CITY, Colo. (AP) – Crews resumed the battle Monday against a 7,000-acre wildfire that has destroyed at least 20 homes and a general store. The fire, one of several blazes scorching land across the West, erupted Sunday afternoon 15 miles south of Canon City in south-central Colorado. It quickly grew as 45 mph winds drove the flames through trees and grass.

Lower temperatures and higher humidity slowed growth of the fire overnight, but it was very active on Monday, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Barb Masinton said.

She said 20 homes, a general store and 10 other structures have been destroyed.

About 700 homes had been evacuated. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Farther south, near the New Mexico line, a 13,000-acre fire in Las Animas County was moving toward a methane-gas field. About 300 firefighters were en route to help battle the blaze near Tercio.

A 2,000-acre to 3,000-acre fire in northeastern New Mexico crossed the border into Colorado late Sunday and merged with the Tercio fire.

Also in Colorado’s Las Animas County, a 4,200-acre fire destroyed at least one home and forced the evacuation of 11 ranches. The fire started during a lightning storm. The fires calmed overnight, but were beginning to grow active again Monday as temperatures rose and humidity fell.

Also in northeastern New Mexico, a complex of three other fires burned up to 6,500 acres on the Philmont Scout Ranch, said Terri Wildermuth, New Mexico Forestry Division spokeswoman.

“Those are big fires, but they are not close to anything,” Wildermuth said.

Hikers and staff members at the scout ranch were not in danger from the fires, Philmont officials said. The fires, which began Saturday, were started by lightning strikes.

In Southern California, more than 2,000 firefighters fought to contain three fires that raged in parkland.

In Los Padres National Forest, 2,500 acres of burning hillsides forced the closure of 18 miles of highway. Officials said windy conditions helped spread the blaze, although only a few homes were threatened.

At least four buildings on a ranch were destroyed, said Kathy Good, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman. The fire also prompted the evacuation of campers at Pine Mountain, about 12 miles northeast of Ojai.

In the San Bernardino National Forest, a blaze that erupted Sunday afternoon quickly spread over 432 acres of brush alongside Highway 74, about five miles east of Hemet.

It was half surrounded Monday morning, said a forest public information officer Daniel McCarthy. The cause was under investigation.

A separate 2,688-acre fire was burning near homes in another section of the forest. It began Friday about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, the result of a firefighting exercise that got out of control. It was 80 percent contained Monday.

A California Department of Forestry fire chief apologized and said there would be “repercussions.”

A fire that began about two weeks ago on a mountain peak in southern Arizona grew to about 30,000 acres by Monday and fire crews were digging new containment lines.

About 1,100 firefighters worked to hold a portion of the fire that unexpectedly crossed a fire line, scorching about 1,000 acres on Saturday, said fire spokeswoman Chadeen Palmer.

The fire was burning in an unoccupied area and no structures were threatened.

Authorities could not predict when they’ll let the cabin owners who were evacuated a week ago return to their homes, or when they’ll reopen the Catalina Highway that closed May 22.