BEULAH - Cars and trucks packed with clothes, food and personal belongings were parked along a stretch of rural highway Monday as evacuated residents from the Beulah Valley near Pueblo watched black smoke rise from the mountainside and flames arch 150 feet into the sky.

"Three years ago during the drought, I pretty much made peace with the fact that we could lose it all," said Dave Van Manen, referring to devastating wildfires that engulfed parts of Colorado in 2002.

Spending his 29th wedding anniversary standing beside the asphalt of Colorado 78, his car stuffed with business files and other items, Van Manen said he was fully aware he could lose his house and office.

About a dozen people sat in lawn chairs in the gravel parking lot of Grand View Baptist Church at the edge of Beulah, watching flames from the Mason Fire as heavy smoke covered the sun, making it look like a glowing red ball.

With ash falling on top of them, Rob Finkle and his family said they left behind a 12-acre property with a pond, waterfall, paved patio, 3,000-square-foot house and a barn finished this year.

Finkle said he would be pleasantly surprised if his home was still standing.

"You can replace a home. It's the trees - this is one of the most beautiful places in Colorado. It will take a hundred years to replace," he said.