Colorado business owner say employees safely escaped from wildfire zone

The owner of Colorado Cherry Company says she and her employees made it out of the Alexander Mountain Fire evacuation zone safely Monday afternoon.

Kristi Lehnert, owner of Colorado Cherry Company, says as soon as they saw the smoke , they decided to close up shop and evacuate. Before the evacuation orders were in place, Lehnert decided to close her shop. When neighbors alerted her to the fire, it appeared to be just about 100 yards away.

Around noon on Monday, the fire was reported to be about 100 acres. By 2:50 p.m., it grew to more than 300 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

"Everybody's been evacuated and we are at home," she told CBS News Colorado. "At the time, you could visibly see the fire and we have a few residents living behind our store and they came up to the top of the hill where our store is located and said 'get out now' and within probably five minutes, you could see the visible plumes coming over the mountain and everyone decided that what was best was to pack up and leave."

The Loveland location of their store is on Highway 34, about 11 miles west of Highway 287. That stretch of Highway 34 is now closed to through traffic and only for people evacuating the fire.

The store specializes in jams, juices, jellies, ciders and pies and they've had to evacuate before due to wildfires and floods.

"We kind of have nine lives up there, we've survived two floods and a couple of other fire threats so fingers crossed and prayers that we survive this one as well," she said. "It seems like every couple of years it's something like this that happens and it doesn't get any easier each time."

On her way out, Lehnert snapped a few photos of the fire.

Fire and emergency management officials urge people who live or work in high-fire-risk areas -- or any area prone to natural disasters -- to have a go bag ready with essentials in case they need to evacuate quickly. Most of the same advice applies to business owners, but Lehnert says there are additional things to consider when you're responsible for your employees' safety.

"First and foremost is the safety of everyone so literally it's 'turn the lights off, close the door and get out.' That's it," she said. "Nothing is worth any human life and so it's just hightail down the canyon and get to safety."

Kristi Lehnert is the mother of CBS News Colorado meteorologist Alex Lehnert .