A wildfire that surrounded Bailey, dubbed the Snaking Fire, was 35 percent contained Thursday night with about 2,500 acres burned.

That's still double what it was 24 hours ago, but cooler weather helped firefighters start to gain the upper hand on the troublesome blaze.

The fire has become the nation's top firefighting priority and more firefighters and equipment were on the fire lines Thursday.

A temperature inversion kept the smoke low to the ground Thursday morning. That prevent air tankers from making runs, but by 1 p.m. the inversion had lifted and the planes were busy making slurry drops on the fire.

Residents of several neighborhoods evacuated Tuesday and Wednesday were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday night. Residents of Horse Shoe Park, Lazy Ours, Ravenswood, Hill & Dale, Bailey Estates, Parkview, and Crow Valley were kept from their homes because of the fire danger.

Many of the residents were who forced to evacuate the Burland Ranchettes area had been evacuated two years earlier when the High Meadow Fire started in their subdivision.

"It's twice in three years," said Eugene Gimer, a Burland resident told The Denver Post.. "If I lose this house, it is going to be a hard decision to rebuild."

The High Meadow Fire started on High Meadow Drive in the southeast section of Burland Ranchettes, apparently from a carelessly-tossed cigarette.

No homes have burned in the latest fire, although one shed and another small structure were destroyed by the fire, officials said. Residents appeared to be happy with the way they were being kept informed by fire officials. Official maps and updated fire statistics and telephone numbers were handed out to shoppers at the local supermarket in nearby Conifer.

A Town Hall meeting was held Thursday night at Conifer High School to brief residents on the fire. They learned there was no estimate for containment or control of the fire.

"We have a very serious situation here," said Gov. Bill Owens after touring the fire Wednesday.

He was at the fire again Thursday and he commended firefighters for working so hard to contain the blaze.

Smoke from the fire drifted over the foothills southwest of Denver Thursday morning, raising health concerns. Bailey is about 40 miles southwest of Denver, in the foothills.

The fire began Tuesday afternoon on a hill behind Platte Canyon High School. Authorities were looking at three high school students who may have been smoking in the area at the time, according to 7NEWS. Officials said they have talked to several juveniles, but are not far enough along into the investigation to consider filing charges.

The fire was burning in mostly Ponderosa pine and fir around Grouse Mountain and Split Rock, between Shawnee and Crow Hill. The blaze is contained to Park County on Pike National Forest and on private land.

High Winds Blow Up Fire Wednesday

High winds picked up and hampered firefighters' efforts to contain or even control the blaze Wednesday.

Winds gusting at 30 mph caused erratic fire behavior in the brushy fuels on the west side of the Wednesday. At one point, officials ordered a hasty evacuation of the entire town of Bailey as the fire approached from the north.

Three air tankers were dropping fire retardant and three helicopters were dropping water, and will continue to do so as long as weather conditions permit. Three more planes and 200 more firefighters were expected on the fire lines Thursday. Some firefighters were coming from as far away as Illinois. A crew from the Miles City, Montana Fire Department unloaded two fire trucks from a tractor trailer in Pine Junction Thursday evening. The trip from Miles City took 11 hours, they said, and they were anxious to pitch in and help.

Many local Colorado fire departments also sent personnel and equipment to battle the blaze. There were more than 600 interagency firefighting personnel assigned to the fire by Thursday evening. That was in addition to 11 federal crews that included four hotshot teams.

The Red Cross set up a shelter for the evacuees at Elk Creek Elementary near Shaffers Crossing Tuesday night, but that shelter moved to Conifer High School to accommodate the thousands of people that were being evacuated, 7NEWS reported.

Camp Santa Maria, located between Shawnee and Grant, has also been established as a shelter, should Highway 285 be closed again.

All Platte Canyon schools -- Platte Canyon High, Fitzsimmons Middle School, and Deer Creek Elementary School -- will be closed until Monday because of the fire, 7NEWS reported.

All Jefferson County schools will be open Friday , including Elk Creek Elementary, and Conifer High School, which is the site for the Red Cross Shelter.

After touring the fire site on Wednesday, Owens repeated his earlier message: Colorado is in for a tough fire season.

He asked Coloradoans to do what they can to build a defensible space around their homes and conserve water where they can.

Related Stories:

• April 24, 2002: Out Of Control: Bailey Forced To Evacuate
• April 23, 2002: Bailey Wildfire Sends Hundreds Fleeing
• April 22, 2002: Wildfire Burns Near DIA
• April 22, 2002: Jeffco Fire Ban Issued
• April 20, 2002: Controlled Burn Cause Of Topaz Mountain Fire
• April 19, 2002: Firefighters Battling Three Wildfires
• April 19, 2002: Forest Fires Burning In Park, Larimer Counties
• April 18, 2002: Fallen Tree To Blame For Forest Fire
• April 17, 2002: Firefighters Hope To Contain Cedar Mountain Fire
• April 17, 2002: Electrical Short Blamed For St. Elmo Fire
• April 16, 2002: Forest Fire Levels Home In Teller County
• April 16, 2002: Plea Entered In Firefighter's Death
• April 16, 2002: Drug Lab May Have Started St. Elmo Fire
• April 14, 2002: Nearly 700 Acres Torched By Weekend Wildfires
• April 11, 2002: Small Thornton Fire Threatens Homes
• April 3, 2002: Lake George Fire Contained
• April 2, 2002: Weather Helps Firefighters In Park County
• April 2, 2002: Forest Fire Burning At Pike National Forest
• March 28, 2002: Controlled Burn Gets Out Of Control
• March 27, 2002: Volunteer Firefighter Charged With Arson
• March 22, 2002: Cities Consider Water Rationing
• March 13, 2002: Colorado Fire Danger Very Real
• March 11, 2002: Several Acres Burned At Pike National Forest
• February 12, 2002: Wildfire Burns Field Around East Lake
• January 19, 2002: Feds: No Evidence Of Arson In Greeley Fire
• January 15, 2002: Greeley Fire A Result Of Animal Rights Arson?
• January 14, 2002: Greeley Fire Still Smoldering
• January 13, 2002: Three-Alarm Fire Destroys Greeley Building