(TELLER COUNTY, Colo.) — After a nerve-wracking couple of days, the Highland Lake Fire is 80% contained as of Wednesday, Oct. 30, and all evacuees have been allowed to go home.

Relief, excitement, and gratitude–just a few of the emotions experienced by evacuees as they waited at checkpoints on Wednesday for clearance to get back in to evacuated areas and back to their houses. Homes that are still standing, aside from the initial structure that started the fire, thanks to the hard work and dedication of fire crews.

“It was a hot fire. I was standing behind this brown house up on the ridge line,” said Joseph Allen, an evacuee. “And I was looking down at the fire when it was spreading.”

After witnessing the flames at the home where the fire started, Joseph Allen was anxious to be home and relieved to see the limited amount of damage in the area.

“You hear reports and they say, ‘Well, nothing was hurt. Nothing was hurt.’ But you don’t know until you see it with your own eyes,” said Allen. “I have nothing but good things to say about how Teller County has handled this. You know, they were Johnny on the Spot, and they’ve done such a great job.”

Allen was not alone in feeling deep gratitude for the first responders and being in awe of how quickly the wildfire was handled.

“You’re looking for, ‘What’s… what’s different? There’s nothing different?’ You know… it looked like we had just left the house, for a trip to Walmart or something,” Allen said of the lack of damage to homes and properties. “I’ve never seen something run this smoothly and get taken care of so efficiently.”

FOX21 News was at one of the checkpoints as a line of cars waited to get back in to their neighborhoods, and just about every one of them thanked the Sheriff’s Office and fire crews for their hard work.

“Definitely thank your Sheriff’s [Office] and thank your firefighters when you see them, because they definitely do a bang up job,” said Allen.