Widespread wildfires broke out in Colorado, including in the metro area, as strong winds and low humidity raised fire concerns and prompted two consecutive days of red flag warnings.

On Friday, a downed power line sparked the Hogback fire in Jefferson County, and the wind-driven blaze climbed upslope on the west side of the hogback, near Matthew Winters Park, and topped the ridge before racing down the east side toward C-470 and south toward West Alameda Avenue.

On Thursday, the 403 fire started in Park County south of Florissant and overnight the blaze grew to more than 1,205 acres as it raced toward Teller County. The fire forced the evacuation of about 100 homes while other area residents were put on pre-evacuation notice. On Friday, winds in the area were about 30 mph with gusts up to about 52 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Cold weather, with temperatures in the upper 30s, aided firefighters in the efforts.

Also on Thursday, the 125 fire erupted south of Simla and early in the afternoon the entire Elbert County town, with about 600 residents, was ordered to evacuate. The evacuation order was lifted late-afternoon Thursday.

Aurora Fire Rescue on Friday afternoon contained a brush fire in an open space near the intersection of Parker and Chamber roads. The fire was reported at 3:15 p.m. by 911 callers. No structures burned, but a footbridge and brush in an open space were torched. There were no injuries.

Read more at DenverPost.com.