WRAY, Colo. â€"  A wind-fueled wildfire on the plains of northeastern Colorado destroyed at least two homes and forced all 300 residents of a rural town to evacuate Sunday, authorities said.
More than a dozen area fire departments were working to extinguish the blaze, which started at about 1:15 p.m. south of Yuma before spreading toward Eckley, prompting evacuation orders for the town. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Mike McCaleb, emergency manager in neighboring Washington County, estimated the fire was about 10 miles long and about a mile and a half wide. It created a large wall of smoke and forced authorities to close a section of U.S. Highway 34 east of Yuma.
Firefighters were battling low visibility and gusty winds.
"They're having a tough time getting around and getting it stopped," McCaleb said.
Yuma County Sheriff Chad Day told KUSA-TV in Denver that authorities used an automated phone system to warn area residents about the blaze. Besides Eckley residents, it was unclear how many people were asked or ordered to leave. Evacuation centers were set up in the nearby towns of Wray and Yuma.
"The wind has just been really volatile in terms of changing quickly on us," Day said.
The sheriff said one firefighter suffered minor burns to the face and was being treated at a nearby hospital. A second firefighter was being treated for smoke inhalation, while a third suffered minor burns to the arms.
"These are the only injuries we know of right now, and we hope it stays that way," he said.
Chris Foltz, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Goodland, Kan., said the fire was fueled by sustained winds of 30 to 35 mph, and a gust of 62 mph was measured near Yuma at about 4:35 p.m. He said the small town of Kirk just south of the fire experienced a wind gust of 68 mph soon after the blaze started.
"The winds are going to stay up," he said. "Probably late, late tonight they're going to settle down."
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