The UA's multimillion dollar telescopes atop Mount Graham may no longer be in danger from the Clark Peak forest fire.

High winds driving the blaze toward the University of Arizona's Mount Graham International Observatory shifted yesterday and redirected the fire.

Candace Allen, spokesperson for Coronado National Forest, said the fire is still well over a mile away from the observatory and that the threatening blaze is blowing back on itself.

Buddy Powell, acting director of the MGIO, said the winds have shifted and blew the smoke that had obscured the area off the project site.

"The winds are working to our favor," he said.

Strong winds, which fanned the blaze and pushed it in a northeasterly direction since it started Wednesday near Riggs Lake, have since eased up and are gently blowing out of the east, shifting the fire away from the observatory, he said.

Allen said the Forest Service is holding onto the hope that the fire will travel over charred ground and burn itself out. The Clark Peak fire had consumed 2,735 acres as of noon yesterday.

"We have crews on the western fire line to monitor the fire's progress," Allen said. "We'll just have to wait and see."

The Forest Service has been working with the UA crew at the observatory on protecting and preserving the observatory, she said.

"We're not panicking," Powell said. He said, however, the observatory crew has taken down the perimeter fence just in case firefighter crews have to get to the project site.

Powell said the observatory crew has sealed the outside vents to prevent sparks or embers from entering the building. The sealing will also allow fire crews to coat the buildings with fire retardant foam in case the blaze flares up again.

"We're preparing to shut down (the site)," he said. But that has not happened yet, Powell said.

If the danger passes in the next few days, Powell said it would take the 15-person crew only half a day to restore the observatory to full working status. He said a crew of about 10 is preparing the site to be closed, should the need arise.

Over the weekend, the fire advanced to within a quarter of a mile of 17 vacant summer homes in the Columbine recreation area. As a precaution, the Forest Service had doused the empty houses in fire-retardant foam. As of yet, the fire has not closed in on the unoccupied structures, according to information released by the Forest Service.

Crews from 14 states and 10 federal, state and local agencies are fighting the Clark Peak fire. A total of 340 firefighters and about 200 support personnel have been assigned to combat the blaze.

Equipment on hand to fight the blaze consists of two airtankers, six helicopters, 14 fire engines and two dozers.

The Forest Service suspects the fire was human caused and is still investigating how it was started.