New Colorado wildfire forces evacuations - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. (KUSA) – A wildfire that broke out on Colorado’s Buffalo Mountain near Silverthorne Tuesday morning has grown to 91 acres, forced hundreds of evacuations in two neighborhoods and has prompted a response from multiple agencies.

Summit Fire said the mandatory evacuation of the Wildernest and Mesa Cortina neighborhoods above 20 Grand Road impacts 1,384 residents.

“I was breathing the smoke, there was ash falling on my head,” said Dottie Wolcott, who owns a home in one of the neighborhoods under evacuation orders.

“I drove up to the house and just packed up everything I could think of packing. Dog food, camera, computer,” she said. “I probably ]took 20 min to do that. I’m not sure I was given 20 minutes but fortunately, emergency officials let me in and I picked up stuff as fast as I could and got out.”

“It looked like it was coming over to my house,” said Martin Salinas, who lives in the Wildernest neighborhood and was forced to evacuate. “I had to gather my stuff and get out of there as soon as I could. And as I was leaving there were police cars everywhere trying to get people out. It was very scary.”