ASPEN PARK, Colo. -- Experts said Tuesday night that Colorado residents living in the mountains should be "firewise," and keep trees and shrubs around their houses trimmed back.

Doing so can mean the difference between saving a house and losing a house in the event of a forest fire, the experts told a group of mountain residents in Aspen Park.

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They were at West Jefferson Middle School to learn about ways they could help lessen the chance of losing their homes in a wild fire.

While the homeowners were attending the meeing, firefighters in southwestern Colorado were trying to fully contain a wildfire south of Durango.

Firefighters had contained 70 percent of a 180-acre wildfire Tuesday that destroyed a cabin and damaged two homes as it burned on private land and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation.

Windows of one house were broken and the siding burned, said Butch Knowlton, director of the La Plata County Department of Emergency Preparedness.

About 100 firefighters were attacking the fire that started Monday about 14 miles southwest of Durango, county spokeswoman Joanne Spina said. Residents of eight houses were evacuated for five hours Monday. Three county roads remained closed Tuesday.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

Cooler temperatures and low winds helped crews overnight, but forecasters predicted gusts of up to 40 mph Tuesday afternoon and humidity of 5 percent to 7 percent.

One helicopter was dropping water on the fire.

Also in Colorado, about 35 miles southwest of Denver, about 80 firefighters were pinpointing hot spots at a fire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in Bailey last week, fire information officer Randy Welch said.

The fire was contained Sunday and declared controlled Monday night.

Originally estimated at 2,590 acres, the fire was adjusted to 2,312 acres due to more accurate mapping, Welch said.

It has cost $2.1 million to fight the fire so far, with costs expected to reach $2.6 million, Welch said. Costs will be shared by the Forest Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A team was to begin planning for flood control at the site Wednesday, Welch said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Authorities have questioned three high school freshmen who may have been smoking near the scene.

Another fire that burned 64 acres in the Black Forest area northeast of Colorado Springs after a riding lawn mower caught fire was contained, and crews were mopping up Tuesday, said El Paso County sheriff's Lt. Melissa Hartman.

The fire forced the evacuation of seven homes Sunday but no structures were damaged.