Firefighter Craig Morey works to put out a hot spot on the Mauricio fire Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, near Aguilar, Colo. Six inches of snow which fell overnight helped fire crews stem the advance of the blaze which began Sunday, and has burned over 5,000 acres and destroyed five homes.
Loveland Fire Department wildland team members from left, Dustin Waldorf, Perry Loeffler and R.J. Varner work a hot spot on Larimer County Road 8E Monday morning, Jan. 9, 2006, near Berthoud, Colo., below the Little Thompson water filtration plant which was threatened by a wildfire Sunday night.
A wildfire ravages a hillside just south of Carter Lake, west of Loveland, Colo., Sunday night Jan. 8, 2006. About 60 firefighters worked to control the windswept blaze.
A large grass fire burns in the Sedona Hills neighborhood east of Carter Lake, Colo., Sunday evening Jan. 8, 2006. Nine area fire departments responded to the 150-acre blaze southwest of Loveland, Colo. The wind whipped fire spread quickly, but no structures were damaged.
Firefighters work at the command center on the Carter Lake swim beach as they battle a large grass fire below the lake's dam and in the Sedona Hills neighborhood west of Loveland, Colo., Sunday evening, Jan. 9, 2006.
Chris Schenck, deputy incident commander of the Mauricio Canyon fire, speaks to Aguilar, Colo., residents during a press conference Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006. The fire burned 6,000 acres and destroyed several homes.
The sun sets through smoke and charred trees after the Mauricio Canyon fire burned nearly 5,000 acres and destroyed five homes near Aguilar, Colo., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006.
A firefighter walks out of the woods after putting out a hotspot on a wildfire near Aguilar, Colo., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006. Two wind-whipped wildfires burning in southern Colorado on Sunday destroyed at least five houses and forced the evacuation of several hundred homes.
Firefighting trucks head up the Mauricio Valley Road near Aguilar, Colo., Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, near the site of a 5,000-acre wildfire. A six-inch snowfall overnight slowed the advance of the Mauricio fire, but state fire officials activated its fire Web site Monday, Jan. 9, about three months earlier than usual due to unseasonably warm and dry weather.