Posted at: 05/20/2009 10:50 PM
Updated at: 05/21/2009 7:24 AM
By: Eyewitness News 4

Wildfire forces brief evacuation

Firefighters contain a fire near Blanco Wednesday

People who were in the path of a brush fire in San Juan County Wednesday evening are being allowed back in their homes.

Evacuation restrictions were lifted Wednesday night.

The fire between Bloomfield and Blanco was about five acres, but it got dangerously close to some buildings. That convinced authorities to evacuate about 15 homes and two businesses.

The fire was apparently started by some people who were burning weeds in their back yard. Residents said the fire spread quickly.

San Juan County Fire Chief Larry Marcum said homes were likely saved because of weather conditions.

"If we didn't have the overcast and humidity up and if the winds would have been stronger out of the west, we would have had a real problem," he said.

Nobody was injured and no buildings burned.