GRANBY, Colo. (KDVR) — Evacuees spent a sleepless night waiting for answers on the status of their loved ones, homes and businesses threatened by the East Troublesome Fire.

Richard Cline said he spent the night waiting to hear from two friends who decided to stay in a concrete bunker under their home instead of evacuating. He drove through roadblocks to help them evacuate but said the couple decided to stay behind.

“I told her ‘I am coming, get ready.’ I made it through all the roadblocks. They all [law enforcement] let me go get them and they said no, they were going to stay,” said Cline. “She said ‘no, why don’t you go on and we’ll be alright and talk at you tomorrow.’ And that’s the last word she told me.”

John Williams said he spent the night waiting for information on his home and photo gallery.

Williams has lived in Grand Lake for more than 25 years and owns a photo gallery in the town’s historic downtown.

He described the massive smoke plume that filled the sky when conditions disintegrated Wednesday, and the fire started to spread quickly. The fire grew six times its size in 12 hours late Wednesday into Thursday.

Firefighters said the fire spread quickly from an area north of Grand Lake to Rocky Mountain National Park. Williams hopes it means his home and business survived the destruction.