Firefighters are preparing to evacuate residents in the Lightner Creek area west of Durango for a wildfire that threatened several homes.

The fire was reported shortly after 4 p.m. in the 1200 block of Lightner Creek Road (County Road 207) a couple of miles west of Durango.

The blaze apparently started as a structure fire and spread to the wilderness. Flames quickly ran up a hillside and over a ridge.

Gusty winds drove flames south through the Lightner Creek valley on the west side of the road. As of 4:55 p.m. flames were a few hundred feet from Lighter Creek Mobile Home Park, 907 Lightner Creek Road, where a couple dozen homes are located.

Lightner Creek Road was closed to public access.

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