Las Animas County officials announced all evacuation orders for the Bear fire will be lifted at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The blaze continued to grow overnight after igniting a day earlier north of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site.

Residents north of County Road 78.9 near Bear Springs Road were allowed to return to their homes in the afternoon, while those south of it had to wait until 6 p.m.

The 150-acre fire expanded its perimeter by 30 acres as of 1 p.m. Thursday, according to federal fire dispatch data.

The county’s emergency manager, Darren Kolakowski, told The Gazette on Wednesday that nearly a dozen fire agencies responded to the Bear fire, including departments from La Junta, Rocky Ford and Trinidad, in assisting the leading agency, the Hoehne Fire Protection District.

Dispatch data shows more resources were called in on Thursday to combat the flames, including two modules from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. The Steel City and Tava modules, based in Pueblo West and Colorado Springs, respectively, responded.

County officials warned returning residents to be prepared to leave again if the fire’s status changes.

The region has experienced dry, windy weather since Tuesday, which is expected to last through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. A red flag warning a few miles west of the fire remained in effect on Thursday.

The fire began on Wednesday within a few hundred feet of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, which Fort Carson and other service members use for training operations.

Training operations at the 235,000-acre site northeast of Trinidad were set to conclude at the end of May, according to previous Gazette reporting.