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Hundreds of Colorado wildfire evacuees return to homes

DENVER (AP) — Hundreds of residents forced to leave their homes by a southwest Colorado wildfire have been allowed to return.

Megan Graham of the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that residents of nearly 1,000 homes remain under evacuation orders, down from a high of 2,200.

Graham says those allowed to return have been told to be ready to leave again due to changing conditions of the fire about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Durango.

The fire began June 1 in an area of extreme drought affecting the Four Corners region of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. It has blackened 51 square miles (132 square kilometers) of terrain but no structures have been destroyed.

Officials say expected weekend rains could provoke flash flooding in burn scars.


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