Wendy Lowery and her husband, Leif, are just two months away from finishing construction of their dream home in the tiny community of Michigan Bluff in Placer County.

Today, however, they don't know whether the three-story wooden home they spent the last two years building will remain standing.

The Ralston fire, which has consumed 2,600 acres east of Foresthill since Tuesday, was burning one to two miles from their home Friday and appeared to be heading their way.

"To try to rebuild something like this after working on it for two years on the weekends ..." Wendy Lowery said, her voice trailing off. "I don't know if we could do it again."

The U.S. Forest Service, which has been battling the fire with help from numerous state and local fire agencies, "strongly recommended" Thursday night -- and repeated Friday -- that residents of the small communities of Michigan Bluff, Baker Ranch and Volcanoville evacuate because of the fire's threat.

Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz, who visited an evacuation center at Foresthill Memorial Hall on Friday, said concern for the communities just above the north fork of the middle fork of the American River had become serious.

"If that fire jumps the river, this (evacuation center) will be severely impacted," Kranz said.

For most of the week, winds pushed the wildland fire eastward toward an area known as Mosquito Ridge. It threatened no homes or structures.

A change in the wind Thursday night scattered the fire in other directions, including north toward Michigan Bluff, officials said. Temperatures remained in the 80s Friday night, with humidity at a low 25 percent.

But good news came from the National Weather Service, whose forecast for today included better conditions for firefighting.

Highs will peak between 65 and 75 degrees, with lows dipping somewhere between 45 and 55. A Delta breeze of 10 to 15 mph will sweep in some moisture, boosting the humidity to 50 percent.

"Wind is not good for fires, but this is not a real strong wind. Plus, it's (humid), which is good," said forecaster Johnnie Powell.

By Friday, county officials had prepared the Foresthill Memorial Hall to serve as a full-scale evacuation center, said Rich Colwell, chief assistant to the executive officer of Placer County.

"We've brought in cots for 100 people, portable showers, laundry services and food services," he said. "Animal services has brought in cages and pens so that evacuees can bring their pets and animals."

Outside on the park grounds, firefighters had set up about 60 small tents to use as sleeping quarters.

Robert McKinnon, 26, a firefighter from the Plumas National Forest, was on the fire line from 6 p.m. Thursday until 8:30 a.m. Friday.

"The terrain is real steep and there were a lot of landslides," he said. "Rocks and dead trees came sliding down. Some of those trees were on fire.

"Our job was to stop those trees from coming across (Mosquito Ridge Road) and spreading more fire into the canyon and across the river."

McKinnon said vegetation in the forest is dry.

The U.S. Forest Service reported that about 300 structures and another 200 outbuildings, such as barns and sheds, are threatened in the communities north of the fire.

There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities. More than 1,000 firefighters have battled the blaze.

The threat of the fire led to a conflict Friday between a brother and a sister who live across from each other on Michigan Bluff Road.

"We're staying," said Karen Ruiz. "I've been here 22 years, and I'm not going anywhere. "

Her brother, Gary Hall, a former volunteer fire chief in Butte County, said he "chewed out" his sister.

"How do you spell 'stupid?' " he said about her decision to stay. "The problem with people staying is that they become a liability to the firefighters and to law enforcement.

"If the fire approaches, the firefighters now have to make decisions. Do you help get the people out of the area, or do you try to protect their homes and property?"

Wendy Lowery, Hall's neighbor, said her home, which overlooks Ralston Ridge, is about 90 percent finished.

"The view is like a blessing. It's so beautiful," she said. "But you take the risk of living here. There is always the threat of fire."

In nearby Baker Ranch, Brian Hadley said he spent nine hours Thursday moving property out of his mobile home.

"I'm a 20-year resident of Foresthill and this is the first fire that's really come close," he said.

Hadley, a volunteer for the Placer County sheriff's search and rescue team, said he was confident the fire would be stopped before coming up the hill.

"But anything can happen," he said. "It wouldn't take long for that confidence to go the other way."

About the writer:

• The Bee's Art Campos can be reached at (916) 773-2825 or acampos@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Kim Minugh contributed to this report.