EVERGREEN, Colo. - A new wildfire in the foothills southwest of Denver forced the evacuation of dozens of homes Wednesday as hot and windy conditions in much of Colorado and elsewhere in the West made it easy for fires to start and spread.

That order was later extended to the unincorporated township of Buffalo Creek.

The fire zone was steep mountain terrain, heavily forested and several miles south of where last year's Lower North Fork Fire damaged and destroyed 23 homes and killed three people.