DENVER -- Rain helped dampen the Picnic Rock Fire, which grew to more than 8,000 acres Friday afternoon, inching closer to homes and forcing two mountain communities to be put on evacuation alert.

One home and one garage have been destroyed, and 23 homes and 70 outbuildings are threatened.

Residents of Livermore and Hewlett Gulch have been put on evacuation alert and the Bonner Peak and Cherokee Hills subdivisions have already been evacuated. Automated emergency calls were placed to the 64 homes in the Hewlett Gulch area just after 11 a.m., telling them to pack up and be on standby.

The Picnic Rock Fire is about 15 percent contained, but grew rapidly Thursday night, driven by wind and extremely dry conditions. It defied expectations Thursday night by jumping from treetop to treetop. Officials say fires usually lie down at night as winds calm, but that hasn't happened with this fire. The fire was just 3,500 acres Thursday night when air tankers and helicopters were grounded for the evening and had leaped to 6,000 acres by Friday morning.

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Gov. Bill Owens on Friday authorized up to $2.2 million in state disaster emergency funds to help cover the costs of fighting the Picnic Rock Fire, declaring the wildfire a state disaster emergency. The State Forest Service made the request for the emergency declaration.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also pledged federal aid to fight the fire and federal firefighters were at the fire coordinating the defense. More than 400 people are on the fire lines, trying to contain the blaze. More crews and equipment are expected to arrive throughout the day.

One big factor that is helping firefighters is the weather. A cold front that moved in brought with it in higher humidity levels, more cloud cover and lower temperatures, 7NEWS Meteorologist Jessica Jamison said. There is also a chance that the area could be doused with snow Saturday.

But the fire got a little bit worse before it got better. The cold front had also brought with it very strong, erratic winds that fanned flames and hindered firefighting efforts. Winds are currently pushing the fire west on to national forest system land, where no homes are threatened. However, there is a lot of timber in that area and the potential is high for it to race through, gobbling up acres without restraint.

"Fuel conditions out here are more like what we'd see in August, than March or early April. So that's why we're seeing really strange fire behavior for this early in the season. An inch of rain would go a long way towards putting this fire to bed," said Steven Paul with the Type II incident team.

Larimer County officials are hoping for a 30 percent containment by day's end and firefighters aren't relying on Mother Nature completely. They are aggressively focusing on protecting the homes in Obenchain Draw and Bonner Peak subdivisions, and the community of Livermore.

Many Bonner Peak Ranch evacuees camped out all morning at the entrance to their subdivision, hoping for updates from fire crews. One resident heard them mention his address on the radio and quickly asked a firefighter about the condition of his home. And then there was a long pause.

"He asked me to spell my name, and I'm thinking, 'Oh, Geez, that's not a good sign.' And so I spelled my name. And then another minute goes by or so -- endless amounts of time. And then he finally says the house is OK," said evacuee John Tschirhart. "We sighed a really big sigh. Our anxiety drained out. So now I'm just anxious to get up there and see what it looks like."

If it rains, evacuees will be allowed back in their homes by Saturday, said Larimer County sheriff's spokeswoman Eloise Campanella.

Overnight, the fire lurched north and west, jumping to the west side of the north fork of the Poudre River and making a run west of the Bonner Peak subdivision.

One good sign that firefighters are getting a better handle on the situation is Colorado Highway 14 west of Highway 287 was reopened Friday morning, although drivers in the area were cautioned to watch for rolling rocks or other falling debris. The fire is burning west of Highway 287, north of Highway 14 amidst dry grass, brush and trees.

Travelers on Highway 287 this weekend are asked to watch out for heavy emergency traffic.

The man who allegedly started the blaze by setting fire to trash in his yard Tuesday afternoon will eventually be charged, although the exact charges aren't known, authorities said.

The cost of fighting the fire has climbed to $810,000.

A Red Cross evacuation center for the daytime was set up at Presbyterian Church in LaPorte and a nighttime shelter was set up at Cache la Poudre Elementary.

Ten Type II hand crews, 36 engines, three water tenders, one heavy 3,000-gallon tanker, two Type III helicopters, one Type I helicopter, and two single-engine air tankers are working the fire.

Owens Authorizes Use Of Wildfire Emergency Funds For Inital Attack On Fires

Owens on Friday also signed legislation which encourages additional financial support for the state's Wildfire Emergency Response Fund and authorized the State Forest Service to tap the fund to pay for the first hour of a firefighting helicopter at a wildfire.

"The initial attack on a wildfire is critical," Owens said. "Each summer, I have authorized funding for several air tankers to be in position here in Colorado. Our strategy of prepositioning resources has proven to be very successful and this new law adds yet another tool, making sure that funds are available for initial helicopter attacks on wildfires."

The State Forest Service said that 95 percent of the fires in 2003 were controlled at under 10 acres.