DELTA COUNTY, Colorado — When Nephi Barlow got word that his neighbors were worried about him and his family, he called the local sheriff.

"He's active FLDS," said Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee.

The news of the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's compound in the tiny town of Eldorado, Texas, has stirred up emotions and fears in many communities that have become home to FLDS enclaves.

Expansion appears to be under way in at least two known compounds of the FLDS Church outside of Texas and rumors continue to swirl about so-called "safe houses" scattered throughout the West.

It's an oft-repeated claim that those familiar with the FLDS people adamantly deny.

"They're not safe houses.

They're homes. A community," said Rod Parker, an attorney who has represented the FLDS Church and is acting as their spokesman.

At Barlow's invitation, McKee and Delta County Commissioner Olen Lund toured the man's 35-acre property on B25 road just south of Crawford, Colo. The single-family home with a barn sits behind a large-sized privacy fence.

"He just wanted to assure his neighbors that he didn't have any criminal activity going on there. It's just him and his family and a few hired hands," the sheriff said, adding that he did not press Barlow to reveal if he was a polygamist.

"We were introduced to one wife," McKee said.

Barlow told the men that he moved to the area last year from Nevada, where he works in the construction business. He said he had family in Colorado City, Ariz., and in Texas. Barlow did not wish to speak to reporters, and the sheriff said he did not believe there was anything criminal happening on the man's property.

"It's a free country. It's private property. They can use that property as they see fit, as long as it's not illegal," Lund said.

Either because of government pressure or feelings of religious persecution, many FLDS faithful are leaving the sect's strongholds of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City and branching out across the Western United States.

"They just want to find places they can stay under the radar and do whatever it is that they're doing," said Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith.

Besides the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, enclaves are known to exist in Bountiful, British Columbia in Canada; near Mancos, Colo.; Pringle, S.D.; and a farm near Pioche, Nev. Many FLDS have also assimilated into communities near Las Vegas and here in Colorado.

The raid in Texas has put more scrutiny on those living away from Short Creek (the name of the communities of Hildale and Colorado City).

"Their religious beliefs, he feels, have been under attack for years," McKee said of Barlow.