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Crew Rescues Stallion, Fire Puts Ranch's Future In Doubt

LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) - As some evacuees found out about the fate of their homes on Wednesday, a new pre-evacuation order was issued for the Glacier View area.

The order was much larger than Tuesday's order for the same area. Now 1,600 homes have been told they may have to evacuate from the area.

It's been an emotional roller coaster ride for evacuees at the Larimer County Fairgrounds in Loveland. Officials held a community meeting at 3 p.m. at The Ranch located on the fairgrounds. Some people learned that their homes were destroyed, while others learned their homes survived. Others learned they could actually return to their homes.

Still, there are many who are left with uncertainty.

"I'm going home! I'm going home!" an evacuee said. "My house is okay. It's full of smoke, but I get to go home."

Some know with certainty that there is no home to go to.

"He said, 'I can say when I left the canyon certain houses were there, but I don't know if they're standing now,' " evacuee Dinny Faulkenburg said.

The fire has changed the lives of some residents forever.

"I might have to get rid of all my horses," Shiloh Guest Ranch owner Cricket Mason said.

Shiloh Guest Ranch is a boarding ranch for horses in the burn area. Her horses are all safe, but her future is in doubt.

"I have a property that I owe payments on that I can no longer run my business out of," Mason said.

Mason said insurance will pay for her destroyed house, but the damage done to her 80 acres might kill her business.

"I need my pastures and trails, I need trees and I need to be able to take people out there," Mason said.

There are still many evacuees who haven't heard one way or another about their properties.

The fire has not been without its heroes. One crew from Larimer County went back in the fire zone to rescue a stallion that was left at a ranch. They went past trees that were on fire to a ranch that had almost burned down itself.

"It had burned. The house was still standing but just the very edge of the corral was still smoking and the fire crew warned us if a gust of wind comes up this tree might come down, so be careful," evacuee Donna Marie Feigle said.

The wait for the others might not last too long as officials announced more evacuees could be allowed back into the area on Thursday.

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Wildfire Photo Galleries

- See images from the most destructive wildfire (Fourmile Fire) and largest wildfire (Hayman Fire) in Colorado history.

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