Huge Colo. fire jumps river, prompting new evacs

(CBS News) BELLVUE, Colo. - As firefighters in northern Colorado make progress against one part of a huge wildfire, the flames keep spreading to other areas.

That's leading to new evacuations, but the situation was getting a little better Friday morning.

Although the numbers were improving, officials say the fire is proving to be both stubborn and unpredictable, reports Rick Sallinger of CBS Denver station KCNC-TV.

Containment was grwoing in some areas of the High Park fire, but in one section, it jumped a river, triggering a new round of evacuations.

Residents of the Glacier View area were given just 20 minutes to get out.

Officials know their work is far from over.

"Our plan is to be patient," explains Bill Hahnenberg, a Rocky Mountain Area Team incident commander, "and work with this fire in a phased situation, as it moves on its terms, which it's going to. And we'll keep up with it. And that may mean we're doing this for days."

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Some evacuees are finally getting word on whether their canyon homes were burned, or spared.

"We just found out - after day six - that our house is still standing there, and so is our neighbor's," evacuee Cherie Brand Horst says.

She managed to get her neighbors on the phone to give them the good news.

"I'm not kidding. We're still there!" she said on her cell phone.

But Cherie says she knows the shifting winds mean her home is still in danger - for weeks, and possibly months to come.

To see Rick Sallinger's report, click on the video in the player above.