The intense fire, which doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles, has forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents, Colorado Springs emergency management director Brett Waters said, as reported by the Washington Post.
The Denver Post writes the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office issued a pre-evacuation notice Wednesday morning to residents in the southwest part of the county. “The Waldo Canyon fire burning in El Paso County is expanding and poses a threat,” the notification stated. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Below are several photos showing the devastation and rescue efforts, including a satellite image of the fires courtesy of NASA.
A scene from the Colorado wildfires
wyoguard
Fires in High Park in Poudre Canyon about 15 miles from Ft. Collins, Colo. Additionally, Colorado Guardsmen are augmenting the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department to provide assistance in securing evacuated areas
U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Rusty Ridley
A U.S. Forest Service aircraft breaks away as a Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130 begins dropping retardant on a section of the Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colo.
The National Guard
Colorado National Guard on the scene of the wildfires
National Guard
The Colorado wildfires
Don Savage Photography
A view of the Colorado wildfires as seen from a resident’s house
LePhotography
Smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire can be seen at nearby Coronado High School in western Colorado Springs, Colo
National Guard
A NASA satellite images shows the various fires raging across Colorado
NASA
A Colorado sunset tinged with smoke from the wildfires
James Bo Insogna
