Silver City fire destroys as many as 15 structures

Residents continued to be evacuated from their Rosedale Road homes Monday night as a wind-swept fire that already destroyed as many as 15 homes in the Silver Acres neighborhood continued to burn out of control. Silver City Fire Chief Rudy Bencomo said because the winds were still fueling the blaze, firefighters were in a defensive mode Monday night, evacuating people as necessary and trying to save as many homes as possible. Grant County Sheriff Raul Villanueva said that all of Silver Acres from Lance Drive south to Broken Arrow had been evacuated Monday afternoon, and officers began evacuating homes on Rosedale after the fire jumped Ridge Road. Bencomo said the fire appears to have started north of the Tyrone town site just off the shoulder of Highway 90. The cause of the blaze has not been determined, he said. By Monday afternoon an emergency shelter had been opened at the Grant County Business and Conference Center. About 60 people had made use of the shelter Monday afternoon and early evening...more