Some Leave for Trials, but Others Face Fires SAN JOSE, Calif. - John Orozco, the reigning national gymnastics champion in the all-around event, is known for his ability to stay even-keeled, even in the most adverse situations. But recently in Colorado Springs, where he trains at the United States Olympic Training Center, there has been a distraction that he could not ignore. Raging wildfires west of the city have prompted the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents, and the wind-fueled fires are only worsening. The fires forced the United States Olympic Committee to cancel its quarterly board meeting that was scheduled to be held in San Jose on Thursday, after 40 staff members were displaced from their homes. "Walking outside, the ashes are blowing around and getting into your eyes," said Orozco, who is from the Bronx but lives at the training center. The day before I left for trials was especially smoky. When we were driving, I felt like someone's car was going up in flames because the smoke was so bad. I rolled down the window and said, Man, I can't breathe. Orozco escaped the smoke and flew to the Olympic trials on Monday, where the United States" five-man and five-woman teams will be announced this weekend. The men's event begins Thursday in San Jose, and the women's starts Friday. Only two men will earn guaranteed spots on the team. The gymnasts with the top two combined scores from nationals and trials in the all-around can clinch berths, but only if they also finish in the top three in three events. Those gymnasts will be named Saturday after trials. The other three will be announced Sunday. Orozco and Danell Leyva, the world champion in the parallel bars, are leading the pack, but neither is packing bags for the London Games just yet. "You can't let off for even a second because nothing is a guarantee," Leyva said. You just hope that you hear your name called on that last day. On the women's side, the reigning world champion, Jordyn Wieber, won the all-around national title, with Gabrielle Douglas in second, 0.2 points behind. Alexandra Raisman, considered a lock for the team, was in third. The other two spots are wide open, with three gymnasts from the 2008 Olympic team - Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone and Bridget Sloan - still in the mix. "Last time, it was so annoying because only Nastia and Shawn were named, and the rest of us had to wait and wait and wait," Sacramone said of Liukin and Shawn Johnson making the Olympic team at the 2008 trials before the rest of the contenders attended a national selection camp to learn their fates. The training center is emptier than usual because many athletes - including the gymnasts, swimmers and track and field athletes - are at their Olympic trials. Still, 18 athletes from four sports remain, which make up less than 4 percent of the Olympic team that is in residence there, said Patrick Sandusky, spokesman for the U.S.O.C. Nearly half of those athletes are shooters, while the others are from wrestling, fencing and modern pentathlon. Health advisories were posted around campus, saying athletes, particularly ones with respiratory problems like asthma, needed to stay in air-conditioned buildings and avoid the smoke. "This is difficult to do because it may mean driving to an area where there is no smoke," the advisory said, suggesting places like Pueblo, about 45 miles south, and Boulder, about 100 miles north. For athletes without respiratory problems, the advisory said, the smoke can be irritating and lead to respiratory problems that may take a week to develop. Rifle shooters, in particular, have had to deal with the smoke even when they train indoors. Because of the lead in their bullets, they train in ventilated buildings that bring outdoor air inside. Amanda Furrer, a rifle shooter who will compete in London, said Wednesday that she saw track cyclists working out with masks over their mouths and noses. Even at the rifle range, she could smell smoke. "It was crazy because it was hazy inside," she said. It was harder to breathe through your nose, and your throat gets a bit swollen. We need clean oxygen to keep our eyes open longer and focus on our shot, so it's affecting our training. Athletes, like Furrer and Orozco, will be in and out of the training center until the Olympics, but many will not return there at all. The Olympic men's gymnastics team has scheduled its pre-London training camp there, starting July 8. Kevin Mazeika, the men's national team coordinator, said he was monitoring the fires to see if the camp had to be relocated. While Orozco said the poor air quality had not affected his routine or training, he said he had bigger worries. "I'm just praying for rain," he said, "because a lot of people have lost their houses."