Wildfires spread in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The total number of homes destroyed by a two-week old wildfire in northern Colorado was raised to 248 on Sunday as residents of a subdivision near Fort Collins learned that 57 more homes in their neighborhood had been lost, authorities said.

Fire officials had previously said that 191 homes had burned, the most in state history.

The High Park Fire is the second-largest wildfire and among the most expensive in Colorado’s history. It has scorched more than 130 square miles and was just 45 percent contained on Sunday, the Denver Post reported.

With a total of eight fires burning, Colorado is having its worst wildfire season in a decade.

A fire near Colorado Springs erupted Saturday and grew out of control to more than 3 square miles early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of more than 11,000 residents and an unknown number of tourists. Authorities said Sunday that they were allowing about 5,000 of those residents to return.

Also on Saturday, a blaze destroyed structures near the mountain community of Estes Park, where many visitors stay while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that 22 homes and 2 outbuildings had been burned.

With Colorado midway through its worst wildfire season in a decade, travelers have seen some of their favorite sites closed to the public, obscured by smoke and haze. Some travelers were awoken with evacuation orders.

Also Sunday, a brushfire that began near Elbert, about 50 miles southwest of Denver, quickly spread to about 60 acres, forcing the evacuation of about 100 residents.

Half the nation’s firefighting fleet is now battling fires in Colorado, said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. He said C-130 military transport planes from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs would begin assisting today.

“People recognize this is going to take a big push” to extinguish, Hickenlooper said Sunday from a Colorado Springs grocery store, where volunteers were passing out burritos, sandwiches and drinks to 350 firefighters working near Pikes Peak.

The wildfire near Rocky Mountain National Park destroyed vacation cabins and closed the most commonly used entrance to the park. Clouds of smoke blew toward the 102-year-old Stanley Hotel that inspired Stephen King to write “The Shining.”