(Image source from: cbsdenver)

A wildfire near Silverthorne is now up to 20 percent contained as of on Wednesday evening, according to the Summit County government.

The fire broke out Tuesday morning and came within 250 feet of homes, forcing more than 1,300 evacuations. Incident Commander Jeff Berino said the fire was definitely human-caused.

Crews were still working to put out hot spots on the Buffalo Mountain Fire on Wednesday. Although conditions remained warm and dry, the wind cooperated with their efforts.

The mandatory evacuation impacts the Wildernest and Mesa Cortina neighborhoods above 20 Grand Road. Residents were allowed briefly back into their homes Wednesday evening.

The safety of the evacuated area will be reassessed beginning Thursday morning.

Bill Jackson is the district ranger for the White River National Forest. He said that fuel breaks created years ago saved homes from burning. These are areas between 300-to-500 feet wide where trees and other potential fuel were removed to create a buffer between homes and the heavy woods.

"From the air, you could see the fuel breaks which follows the edge of these condos and homes," Jackson said. "It was fairly stark. It was right there in front of me. The pattern and where the firefighters were able to engage safely because of these fuel breaks. So, it was quite obvious to me that without these, we'd be in a totally different situation. We wouldn't be standing here."

Residents agreed that the fuel breaks made a big difference.

“It looked like it was coming over to my house,” said Martin Salinas, who lives in the Wilder nest neighborhood and was forced to evacuate. “I had to gather my stuff and get out of there as soon as I could. And as I was leaving, there were police cars everywhere trying to get people out. It was very scary.”

By Lokesh