It was a day of anxiety and drama for residents of ManitouSprings and others who were driven from their homes by the threat ofthe Waldo Canyon fire.
Evacuees flooded into a shelter set up at Cheyenne Mountain HighSchool about 2 a.m. Sunday after Manitou Springs fire officialsordered people in the town to flee as winds whipped the fire. Thatevacuation order was lifted Sunday evening.
The Red Cross sheltered 218 people at Cheyenne Mountain HighSchool Saturday night.
Between 200 to 300 people came and went throughout the daySunday, said Catherine Barde, spokesman for the Pikes Peak Chapterof American Red Cross.
Spokesman Bo Sells said that the Salvation Army fed 250 people atbreakfast and expected 300 for dinner.
Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, it was announced residents from ManitouSprings could return home.
'I am glad to go home, but very sad for mother earth,' saidJennifer Jeffcott as she was leaving for Manitou.
Joe Payne, another Manitou resident, decided to spend the nightin Colorado Springs.
'I don't want to rush back into an area where there were giantflames a day ago. I'll give them some more time,' he said.
Payne had been staying at Cheyenne Mountain High School but movedto Rocky Mountain Health Care Services to stay with his dog.
Payne said he could see the fire from his home Saturday.
'It was lighting the trees up like match sticks,' Payne said.
He was in town when he saw the plume of smoke rising and rushedback home.
'You could hear the fire killing the trees,' he said.
Other residents were also fearful for their homes after watchingthe fire and smoke.
'If the wind reversed, in 30 minutes it would be all over,' saidTom Crouch another Manitou resident.
Scarlett Johnson, a single mom with a son, 8, and a daughter, 13,grabbed photos, birth certificates and family heirlooms as well astheir cat, dog and guinea pig before going to the shelter.
Before the evacution order was lifted, Johnson's children wereafraid for their home.
'They are holding up a strong face, but inside they scared we aregoing to lose everything,' Johnson said.
Some Manitou Springs residents planned to stay with friends.
That was the plan for Judy Jacoby, a Manitou Springs resident whowatched the advancing flames from her house Saturday evening. Butshe ended up at the shelter for a few hours early Sunday morningwaiting for her friend to wake up.
'We didn't think they (friends) would appreciate us showing upwith five animals so early in the morning,' Jacoby said, laughing
Cheyenne Mountain High School was providing shelter for the petsof evacuees though Community Animal Rescue Team, run by the ColoradoSprings police.
Veterinarians on site to provided medical attention foroverheated and stressed pets.
The volunteers received a small mountain of pet food as well asswimming pools to cool off pets.
'This community always responds well to disasters,' said BobHarris the supervisor for the animal rescue team.
Single mom Cristyl Wernsman and her two children, 11 and 8, spentthe $354 they had planned to spend on a fishing trip buying pet foodand Powerade to donate.
Many people also sacrifced their time to help evacuees, including35 registered volunteers who worked with animals and 10 to 15Salvation Army volunteers.
There are about 20 Red Cross volunteers, two nurses and crisiscounselors staffing the evacuation center.
An emergency medical technition, Joe Law extended his vacation tohelp with evacuees.
Law said he saw a lot of deyhydration and diabetics withoutmedication. The most major need was a lung disease patient in needof oxygen.
'Things are going so smooth at the moment,' he said.
Law planned to volunteer through Thursday.
All evacuees are encouraged to register at safeandwell.org sofamily members can check on them and so they can be contacted iftheir house is damaged.
To donate, please visit www.imsalvationarmy.org orwww.redcross.com. Both organizations are asking for money ratherthan goods.
