BILLINGS, Mont. - Donna Block stood looking at a pile of rubble Saturday afternoon that only days before had been where she lived.

"I didn't expect this," she said. "I actually thought this had been spared."

Block was one of the evacuees allowed to return home Saturday to the area burned up by the Derby Mountain fire.

For many residents, it was their first look after being ordered from their homes Wednesday.

Fire officials on Saturday morning opened an area leading to the Stillwater Mine and later in the day opened the Stillwater River Road to the Beehive subdivision.

Areas still under evacuation orders include Meyers Creek, Limestone Road and Stillwater River Road beyond Beehive.

Only property owners were allowed to return and they remain on evacuation alert, said Ken Mesch, Stillwater County Disaster and Emergency Services coordinator.

"If there's a flare-up, you've got to be ready to go," he told a group of Absarokee residents Saturday.

By Saturday evening, the Derby fire had grown to about 160,000 acres and was approximately 20 percent contained. Fire officials now believe at least 26 homes and 20 outbuildings were destroyed, mostly along Stillwater River Road. At least three homes were consumed in Sweet Grass County.

The house on Stillwater Road that Donna Block had lived in since June is owned by a friend who lives in New Mexico. Block, who describes herself as being from "all over," was renting the home while working on the installation of a nearby gas line.

When the evacuation order came, she managed to pile all her belongings into her truck, and her friend's daughter arrived to grab a few antiques and some photos.

"I drove by this and I had to look again and say 'Oh my God, this is where I live,' " she said.

As she surveyed the scorched remains of kitchen appliances and chunks of sheetrock on the ground, she marveled at how little was left.

"A person just can't fathom what this is like, all charred," she said. "The only thing standing is the fireplace."

A storage shed, a travel trailer and another small cabin on the property all were burned up by the fast-moving fire. Block pointed out different parts of the house, the kitchen, the bedroom and what used to be a deck that held a hot tub. Beyond that was a partially burned set of stairs that led down to the Stillwater River, just behind the house. A metal bucket lay on the ground nearby where a wishing well used to stand. All that remained of a bench that sat outside the front door was the ornamental metal supports.

Block, who still has a few weeks of work left in the area, was uncertain where she would live for the remainder of her time here.

"I don't have a plan," she said. "But I have to go make one."

The capriciousness of the fire was evident by looking on either side of the property.

On one side, a new house had burned to the ground. The "for sale" sign in front of ruined house stayed planted in the dirt, undamaged.

On the other side of Block's house, three homes remained standing, with only out-buildings destroyed. At the third house, Paul and Donna McClure stood outside with their children, Amanda and Dillon, and their dog, Jackson.

A white, hand-made sign with black lettering in front of the house read "Thank you firefighters."

A shed less than 10 feet from their house was destroyed. The fire also singed paint on one side of their house and shattered three windows, but otherwise the house remained intact.

The McClures have lived in that house nine years, and for 18 years before that they owned a vacation cabin on the same site.

"We're just so thankful to be here and it doesn't make any sense why we are," Donna McClure said. "You almost feel guilty for being here when your friends and neighbors have lost their places."

She said she and her husband took turns staying up all night Tuesday to watch the progress of the fire on the hill across from their home. A red glow lit up the night, but they hoped the fire was going in another direction.