2010-09-09 09:24

A command and control plane flies over three homes that were destroyed by the Fourmile Canyon fire in Boulder, Colorado September 8, 2010. [Agencies]

Fire conditions were expected to worsen Thursday night into Friday and the risk of any new fires quickly spreading was high along the populated Front Range region, according to the National Weather Service.

Seven of the country's 19 heavy air tankers have been sent to Colorado to fight the blaze, considered the nation's top firefighting priority. Two more have been dispatched to the fire, said Ken Frederick, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Families like the Walkers have been carrying out their own fight against the fire.

Firefighters have been supplying them with water when they can and Rose Walker said she's been crossing into the fire zone to bring her family food and supplies, although authorities have been reluctant to let her come up to the ranch.

Despite her family's efforts, 35 structures have burned, including the family's home, sheds, barns and work areas, Rose Walker said. It's not clear if those are among the total structures that authorities have already confirmed have burned.

"It's everything to us. It's home, it's our work, it's our life," Rose Walker said.

Brough said authorities don't have the time or manpower to force people to leave. However, he said that if a missing person is linked to a burned home, authorities will have to go to the home to see if there are any human remains, tying up resources.

An aerial view shows a seemingly untouched home next to two other homes that were destroyed by the Fourmile Canyon fire in Boulder, Colorado September 8, 2010. [Agencies]