High winds fanned two fires in Boulder County that burned a total of 65 acres Wednesday along the Diagonal Highway north of Boulder and in the Stone Canyon area near Lyons.

The Diagonal Highway fire was first reported at about 3:30 p.m. after grass by a transformer in Tom Watson Park near the IBM campus began to burn.

The fire burned 45 acres and briefly jumped the highway before crews reported the blaze fully contained at 5 p.m.

Kim Kobel, a spokeswoman for the Boulder Fire Department, said the result could have been much worse, considering the wind speeds.

“It could have been a nightmare,” she said. “But they were able to put it out in about 90 minutes.”

Nineteen fire departments and law enforcement agencies from across the county responded to the blaze. The fire forced officials to close down several roads in the area, including both directions of the Diagonal Highway, but all roads were open by 7 p.m.

Cmdr. Rick Brough, of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, said 1,300 homes were advised of the fire, but there were no mandatory evacuations issued and no structures threatened.

Just one hour after the Diagonal Highway fire was contained, crews in Lyons responded to a blaze in the Stone Canyon area near Lyons. Brough said the fire was reported north of the 900 block of Stone Canyon Road about 6 p.m., and it burned about 20 acres before crews contained it just before 8 p.m.

Brough said 42 homes received emergency calls to evacuate the area near Stone Canyon and Eagle Ridge roads. An evacuation center was opened at Lyons High School, where officials said around 15 families waited for news.

Evans Woollen said he evacuated his home in the 2800 block of Eagle Ridge about 6 p.m. He said he grabbed “nothing but the car keys.”

“The police said, ‘Get the hell out of here,'” he said. “So I did.”

While checking in at the school, he joked with his neighbor Robyn Sloan.

“You’ll laugh at this,” he said. “The only thing I did was put the most valuable painting I had … underneath the bed, turned face down.”

“You’d probably have been better off putting it in the freezer,” Sloan joked.

Officials closed the evacuation center at 9 p.m.

Eagle Ridge Road was reopened, but Stone Canyon Road remained closed Wednesday night.

Crews for both fires planned to remain on the scene overnight to monitor hot spots, and officials said those with health problems should avoid the areas, as the high winds may kick up ash and dust.

Brough said while it was too early to make a ruling on the cause of either fire, it appears downed electrical lines may have started both.

Longmont Times-Call Staff Writer Magdalena Wegrzyn contributed to this report.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Mitchell Byars at 303-473-1329 or byarsm@dailycamera.com.