Hot, dry weather hampering efforts to keep wildfire from Colorado town

Firefighters were working Saturday to save the town of South Fork, Colo., from a wildfire fueled by dead trees and hot, dry weather, UPI quoted officials as saying. Shifting winds Friday had encouraged officials in the southwestern part of the state, where the West Fork complex -- a combination of three wildfires among several burning around the state -- raged, The Denver Post reported. Fire crews were stationed Friday around South Fork, a town of about 600 people. Crews were removing any debris or trees near structures threatened by the blaze, said Mayor Kenneth Brooks. Authorities later ordered the town evacuated. The West Fork complex has scorched about 42,000 acres and is not contained, the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center said. Thick haze forced drivers as far as 100 miles away to turn on headlights. The state Department of Public Health and Environment issued a 24-hour-health advisory for the region, cautioning residents to stay indoors if the smoke got too thick.