COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Friday, June 29:

Simone Covey walked anxiously into the Red Cross shelter Thursday evening after organizers called a closed meeting for evacuees. The purpose: To inform residents if their homes had been destroyed by the massive Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs. One by one, street names were read off, indicating which areas had been heavily damaged.

Covey, a 26-year-old single mother of three who was told to leave her sister's apartment Tuesday evening, did not hear her sister's street name called — providing a little bit of relief after spending two nights in the shelter.

"I was really happy, but I was still sad for everybody whose road was on there," she said.

The 26-square-mile fire forced more than 30,000 people out of their homes and is believed to be responsible for at least two deaths.

Many residents, including Covey, were told Friday their evacuation orders had been lifted, but she said she and her children would stay at the shelter at Cheyenne Mountain High School until they are absolutely sure it is safe to return home.

"That way the kids won't have to readjust and then freak out" if they are evacuated again, she said. "I don't want to do it again, so we'll wait and see what happens."

In the meantime, Covey said she is trying to keep her kids busy and is enjoying a less crowded and quieter shelter. Rows of cots set up outside to be sanitized indicated that many people had already left.

Covey said that, despite the circumstances, she is still planning a birthday party for her son, Logan, who turns 3 on Saturday.

More presents have been donated, and now she is just looking for something to wrap them in.

"We'll do something for my son's birthday, and then we'll go back and have a real birthday," she said.

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Thursday, June 28:

"Overheated, "stressed," ''nervous" and "tired." Those were some of the feelings Simone Covey said she was experiencing after spending her second night at the Red Cross shelter in the Cheyenne Mountain High School gymnasium.

Covey was one of hundreds seeking refuge in shelters from the Colorado Springs, Colo., fire and among more than 30,000 forced to flee by the blaze that continued to burn.

She said Wednesday night was especially hard because her oldest daughter, 6-year-old Emma, suffered an asthma attack, overheated and vomited in the bathroom.

Covey also complained about the heat, saying she couldn't fall asleep until 1 a.m.

Meanwhile, her son Logan will turn 3 on Saturday, and Covey said she was upset because she had to leave Logan's presents at her sister's apartment during the rush of the evacuation. She said she didn't know how she was going to celebrate the birthday because "I have no money at all."

Covey received a few gifts for her son from a local charity, and the Red Cross has promised to make the day special.

But beyond the day-to-day inconveniences of living in a shelter, one of Covey's biggest concerns is the fate of her sister's home. She said the media have reported that the fire line is dangerously close — just a few blocks away. Continued...