The wildfire near Colorado Springs has destroyed hundreds of homes and threatens heavily populated areas of the state’s second-largest city. As the wind-whipped blaze entered its fifth day, more than 30,000 people remained out of their homes, said Bret Waters, the city’s emergency management director. An estimated 18,500 acres had been burned, said Rich Harvey, incident commander for the multi-agency task force attacking the fire. Enlarge image Colorado Springs Fire Consumes Hundreds of Homes
“We know of hundreds of homes that have been destroyed,” Mayor Steve Bach said during a press conference today. Flames were visible behind fire personnel as officials briefed reporters.
Relief from searing heat may help firefighters make progress, with temperatures expected in the mid-80s, about 5 degrees cooler than yesterday. Dry conditions and winds are fueling wildfires across the western U.S., including in Idaho, Montana and New Mexico. In Colorado, at least nine have burned over about 233 square miles (600 square kilometers), according to the Incident Command System.
