Some residents who were evacuated from their homes in northern Colorado were allowed to return home Thursday, the second wave of evacuees allowed back, as firefighters continued to battle a wildfire that has burned more than 259 square kilometers. Firefighters said they were trying to increase containment lines and put out hotspots within the burn area before hot weather returns Friday. The fire is now 55 percent contained. "Mother Nature has allowed us this window, and we have responded very aggressively," Brett Haberstick, a spokesman for fire managers, said, according to the Associated Press. The fire has burned over 68,000 acres and destroyed at least 189 homes, making it the most destructive blaze in the history of Colorado. According to the Denver Post, an estimated $19.6 million in damages caused by the fire also meets a state high. Elsewhere in the state, firefighters are making progress against a blaze in central Colorado. A 5-square-mile wildfire near Lake George is 39 percent contained. But authorities temporarily grounded firefighting aircraft after a meteor warning was put in place. According to Chaffee County Sherrif W. Peter Palmer, his office received multiple reports of meteorite sightings. And spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service Steve Segin said that the crew of a heavy air tanker saw something while making a slurry run on the fire. "They landed as they normally do to reload and, for safety reasons, they grounded themselves until they could figure out what it was they saw," Segin said, according to the AP.
