Colorado ? Bob Arnold breathed a sigh of relief Friday morning when the ominous glow finally disappeared from the ridge behind his house. He spent four days and nights defending his home with a shovel and dirt in the shadow of a wildfire that has destroyed at least 169 homes.

He also got help from his neighbor’s hand-operated well. “This right here has been a big help,” he said as he filled a white 5-gallon bucket with water. “I’ve been using it to pour on hot spots, and also for drinking.”

Arnold’s neighbors began returning home Friday, four days after the fire erupted in the rugged foothills west of Boulder and prompted most residents to evacuate. About 2,000 people were cleared to return, but another 1,000 or so were still kept away because of how close their homes are to the 10-square-mile fire that’s still burning.

Crews managed Friday to build more containment lines around 56 percent of the fire, up from an estimated 30 percent earlier in the day.