There was grim news Wednesday from the front lines of the Hayman Fire southwest of Denver.

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Officials called for a voluntary evacuation of homes in southeastern Park County, from Lake George, east to the county line, and north of Highway 24, 7NEWS reported Wednesday evening.

The advisory came as strong winds pushed the fire further south, into Teller County, where it burned as many as 30 homes on Wednesday. A Teller County spokeswoman said the homes were in the Lutheran Valley subdivision near Lake George. A U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman earlier misidentified the affected subdvision as Turkey Rock.

That brings the number of homes that have burned in the fire to 51.

It is unknown where the other 21 structures were located.

The only identified structure that was destroyed was the Horse Creek Campground/Saloon just south of Deckers on Highway 24.

Officials on Wednesday also found 30 dead cows near the Lost Valley Guest Ranch. But they also saved 150 horses in the Turkey Rock subdivision area.

The Hayman wildfire, now at 90,000 acres, is so massive that it will be fought as if it is two separate fires -- on two fronts by two different command teams.

The Northern Command Center has been set up at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. By Thursday, more than 1,000 firefighters are expected to be at the staging area, coordinating their attack plans for the northern head of the fire. The southern Command Center was located near Lake George. The two centers will coordinate firefighting efforts to try and split the growing fire into two sections. Officials say strategy is vital in taming its growth, especially because it is so large.

This fire, burning in the Pike National Forest, is the largest in the state's recorded 126-year history and currently stretches 15 miles long just along the foothills, according to officials. It was reported to be 5 percent contained by early Wednesday afternoon.

There will be about 1,350 firefighters on hand Wednesday to battle the blaze but it is unknown how close they can get to this fire because it's still just too volatile, forest officials said. They were working on building containment lines on the south end this morning, before winds were expected to pick up.

Firefighters were pulled from the front lines on Monday and Tuesday when winds shifted, causing the fire to blow up unexpectedly. Most of the suppressing efforts so far have been made by slurry bombers, who were also called off on both days because the smoke was so thick and intense at times that it drifted upwards of 15,000 feet, 7NEWS reported.

More than 540 firefighters were on the lines Tuesday, consisting of two hotshot crews, 14 Type 2 crews, and 11 20-person hand crews. Forty additional 20-person crews have been ordered.

Although temperatures were relatively low on Wednesday, winds were stronger, said 7NEWS Meteorologist Richard Ortner. Above 8,500 feet, there were coming from the west, southwest at 10 -15 mph and gusting at 25 mph. That could help push it back on itself, but could possibly advance the northern front. Winds below 8,500 feet are northeasterly at 5-10 mph, he said.

About 2,500 homes are threatened and 13,000 people are on call to be evacuated.

Even with an advancing southern front, no new evacuations have been ordered by Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators Looking Into 'Significant' Information

Investigators said that they have reached the driver of a gold minivan who was spotted by a forest ranger leaving the Pike National Forest when the fire started Saturday afternoon.

Fire officials have interviewed him and have at this time ruled him out as the person who started the fire, 7NEWS reported.

They said he was just an interested citizen, staying at a private cabin nearby, when he saw smoke and came to look. He called 911 to report the fire at about 4 p.m. and then left.

But, investigators said that they have received several tips and have "uncovered important information" within the past 24 hours, according to 7NEWS Investigates.

They are still analyzing evidence from the scene and have not determined whether the fire was started intentionally or accidentally.

Officials have traced the origin of the fire to an illegal campfire near Forest Service Road 290, northwest of Lake George in Park County.

Cost And Damage

The wind-driven fire has damaged about 21 homes, but that is only an initial estimate. The smoke is so thick over the fire that it has become difficult for officials to survey the area.

The cost of fighting the fire so far is $20 million, according to U.S. Forest Service estimates. That has also broken a record as the most costly fire in state history.

In addition to the cost for firefighters and support personnel, just one slurry bomb run costs $4,000, and each helicopter drop costs $1,100, 7NEWS reported.

Evacuation Trigger Points

The northern and eastern flanks of the fire, though still burning, did not move much on Tuesday, Douglas County officials said.

The north flank had burned to approximately Sugar Creek Road and Platte River Road, or approximately 7 miles south-southwest of Roxborough Park, according to the Douglas County sheriff's office. The east flank had burned to just west of Rampart Range Road, or about 4 miles west of Perry Park.

The trigger point for the evacuations is along Rampart Road. If or when the fire jumps the road, Douglas County officials will order mandatory evacuations.

The west flank of the fire was active Tuesday afternoon, moving into the Lost Creek Wilderness area and burning south of Wellington Lake, 7NEWS reported.

The trigger point to evacuate the area south of Highway 285 between Park County and Foxton is Forest Road 550 and Highway 126, south of Buffalo Creek.

Because of a change in winds, the southwest head, near Lake George, was the most active. So much so that it forced firefighters back and required mandatory evacuations in Teller County.

The fire was zero percent contained as it broke through established fire lines around 5 percent of the perimeter.

Douglas County residents in the fire path were strongly encouraged to leave now instead of waiting for a mandatory order.

If an evacuation order is issued, residents, even with proper identification, will not be allowed back into their homes, Douglas County officials said.

Douglas County will use the reverse 911 phone system to alert residents if and when the evacuation is mandatory.

However, the system will not work if you have any kind of a "call blocking" unit on your phone, officials warned. That means if you have, for instance, a "telezapper" type add-on device or the Qwest solicitor blocking service, you will not get a call from the county, so you need to disable the feature. There has been a rumor circulating that if you are on the state's no-call list, that your name would be removed from the fire department's call list. This is UNTRUE.

Stay tuned to 7NEWS and TheDenverChannel.com for up-to-the-minute evacuation information.

No. 1 Priority

Federal fire officials on Tuesday designated the Hayman Fire as the no. 1 priority in the country, shifting that designation from the fire in Glenwood Springs, where firefighters appeared to have control of the blaze.

The Coal Seam Fire has destroyed 28 homes and 10,628 acres.

There are about seven other fires burning across Colorado.

The head of Federal Emergency Management Association, Joe Allbaugh, and Gov. Bill Owens took an aerial tour of all the fires in the state and were stunned with the size of the Hayman Fire.

"This is the worst fire I have seen in my life," Allbaugh said. "It's just going to take some time. The weather needs to cooperate. Get more folks on the line and they'll be able to contain this fire."

The current secretary of the Interior Department and former Colorado attorney general, Gale Norton, also saw the damage.

"It's very disturbing for me to see areas that I've loved for years, either burned or in danger and above all, that there are so many homes right in the path of the fire," she said.

FEMA has agreed to pay 75 percent of the costs of fighting the fire.