NEW HARMONY — An inferno of flames erupted Monday night on the outskirts of this Washington County town as hundreds of people fled a menacing wildfire, leaving their homes behind — perhaps never to return to them.

The evacuation order, issued just after 7 p.m., startled residents who just an hour earlier were told the Blue Springs Fire seemed to be veering away.

"We were sitting down to dinner and noticed the wind suddenly shifted," Doug Corry said late Monday as he watched a mass of orange flames stretch into the dark sky. "That's when we quit eating and started grabbing things."

Fifteen-year-old Alyssa Prisbrey stood fearfully in the parking lot of the New Harmony Shell station with her parents, waving at friends and neighbors as they drove by.

"I got scared when the sirens went off," she said. "I thought we were home alone because my parents were at the meeting."

Her father, Kendall Prisbrey, said he went to a community meeting about the fire Monday evening while his wife stayed home to pack. When he got there, he was told to go home immediately and evacuate.

"We got all our domestic animals out and then turned the rest of our animals out," Prisbrey said. "The horses didn't want to leave the barn."

As the town emptied late Monday, fire officials said they were unsure whether any structures had been consumed by the fire.

"I've heard it both ways," said Anne Stanworth, a Bureau of Land Management fire information officer. "We may have to wait till morning when the smoke clears to see what we've got."

Seventeen fire engines and their crews, along with a couple of bulldozers to cut firebreaks, and 20 other firefighters were on hand Monday night, stationed throughout the community. They were parked along roads and at every intersection in case the fire were to creep further into town.

As the evacuation order took effect, residents hauled out trucks packed full of mounted deer heads, saddles and tack and assorted household belongings. Dogs howled from pickup beds, and horses sniffed the smoky air with widened nostrils as they were loaded into trailers.

Throughout the day Monday, firefighters had battled erratic winds as the wildfire threatened residences, on and off, all day.

The National Interagency Fire Center said the fire had burned 10,000 acres of grass, pinyon, pine and oak brush. It was 30 percent contained. Approximately 565 people fought the fire Monday. Throughout the day six air tankers, three helicopters, and 30 fire engines were employed to try to contain the fire.

The fire stretched for about eight miles along I-15. Intermittent closures of the highway have frustrated travelers since Saturday night.