GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. -- Today's temperate weather is expected to help firefighters get a better handle on a blaze burning near Glenwood Springs.

Temperatures were in the 70s on Wednesday.

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On Tuesday, lower winds and cooler temperatures actually helped pushed the fire away from some homes, the station said.

The fire grew only 11,500 acres by Wednesday afternoon, . Containment was estimated at 25 percent, said Betsy Friesen, fire information volunteer.

Garfield County Assessor Shannon Hurst estimated damage to homes at $4.5 million. Twenty-eight homes were destroyed, and three were damaged. Some outbuildings also were feared lost.

The cost of fighting the fire had also grown to more than $790,000, Friesen said.

A total of 482 firefighters were battling the blaze, helped by retardant drops from air tankers Tuesday. Type 2 crews went to work on the fire line, burning vegetation between the perimeter and the bulldozer line, hoping to improve security. Air tankers dropped slurry and more were ordered for Wednesday.

National Guardsmen sent to the area to help maintain security were demobilizing Tuesday because conditions continued to improve. Other law enforcement agencies were also being sent home.

Sheriff Tom Dalessandri said he believed 300 to 500 people were still waiting to return to their homes.

Up to 3,000 had been evacuated at the height of the fire. Most were allowed to return but were told to be prepared to flee at a moment's notice.

"We're going to put it in people's hands to be smart. Right now the threat is not imminent and the desire to return is," said Dalessandri.

The fire broke out Saturday in South Canyon, nearly adjacent to the 1994 Storm King Mountain fire where 14 firefighters were killed. Those deaths made fire bosses very reluctant to put firefighters on the front lines when winds were changing almost from hour-to-hour.

By Monday, crews were on the ground, building lines around the fire.

The blaze was ignited when a long-smoldering underground coal fire burst to the surface and raced through brush and trees. Much of Colorado is in a drought with the driest conditions in 100 years.