A wildfire of “epic proportions” has forced 32,000 people from their homes in Colorado after suddenly doubling in size, overwhelming firemen and sweeping into the state’s second-largest city.
Firemen had set up a perimeter in an attempt to contain the blaze, one of 10 currently burning across the central US state, after it took hold of 6,000 acres of the Pikes National Forest, just west of Colorado Springs.
But on Wednesday, fanned by a windy thunderstorm, it spread to cover more than 15,000 acres – 24 square miles – quickly overwhelming fire crews and tearing into neighbourhoods on the city’s west side.
More than 32,000 of the city’s 419,000 residents were ordered to leave their homes. Local politicians described the scene as akin to “the worst movie set you can imagine”. Fleeing residents covered their faces with T-shirts and bandannas to breathe through the smoke.
It marked the most dramatic development yet in America’s summer wildfire season, the worst in recent years, which has been fuelled by searing, record-setting heat and prolonged drought. Most, if not all, of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana are under red flag warnings, meaning extreme fire danger.
On Wednesday the air above Colorado Springs, which sits beneath the Rocky Mountains, was filled with plumes of heavy smoke and ash which could be seen nearly 100 miles away in Denver.
There were fears that the fire could grow even larger, with only five per cent of the blaze being described as “contained”. It has been suggested that it could continue to burn for more than a month fuelled by the dry conditions and temperatures that exceed 100F each day.
Rich Brown, the Colorado fire chief, said the blaze was a “monster” which was “not remotely close to being contained”, adding: “This is a fire of epic proportions… This is an active fire … please do not be deceived.”
He said it was still unclear how many homes in Colorado Springs had been destroyed. “There are some homes impacted, there is no question about it. We do not know the number,” he said. John Hickenlooper, the governor of Colorado, flew above the fire on his way to Colorado Springs. He said looking down on it from the air was like looking at a military invasion.
“It was almost like looking at the worst movie set you could imagine,” he said. “You could see exactly where the fire came down. All the bright spots, as you got closer, you saw they were people’s homes. They weren’t trees on fire. They were people’s homes, burned to the ground, block after block. It’s almost surreal. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
The notice for 32,000 people to evacuate the area was issued to residents in Colorado Springs to the west of Interstate 25, the road that dissects the state from north to south.
Brit Robinson, 44, and her nine-year-old triplet daughters were among those who fled, not knowing if their home was still standing. Miss Robinson, who lives in Rockrimmon, said: “My parents live above me on the mountain in Peregrine and as we left we could see the flames getting close. We think that houses in Peregrine and Rockrimmon are burning but we don’t know if our homes are on fire or not. We will be devastated if something does happen to the house but I am just happy we are safe. It could have been so much worse.”
Christine Williams and her daughter Serina saw flames just 30 yards from their apartment complex when they fled. “It’s like we’ve had our life swiped out from underneath us,” said Serina
In the north of the state, near Fort Collins, a fire in High Park is already the second worst in the history of Colorado. It started following a lightning strike on June 9 and is currently only 65 per cent contained. It has destroyed 257 homes and as of yesterday had spread across 87,284 acres. One person has been killed.
More than 2,400 residents in the city of Boulder were on Wednesday told to evacuate the area following another fire in the north of the state.
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