Photo Galleries »

Colorado Wildfires: Photos

See larger A plume of smoke rises in the background from a wildland fire over a temporary firefighting station set up on the grounds of the Air Force Academy as fires roll through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has forced the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of the communities west of and now in Colorado Springs proper. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A plume of smoke rises in the background from a wildland fire over a temporary firefighting station set up on the grounds of the Air Force Academy as fires roll through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has forced the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of the communities west of and now in Colorado Springs proper. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Photo Rating:
Gallery Rating:

  • Homes are destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire in the Mountain Shadows area of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. A stubborn and towering wildfire jumped firefighters' perimeter lines in the hills overlooking Colorado Springs, forcing frantic mandatory evacuation notices for more than 9,000 residents. (AP Photo/The Gazette,Jerilee Bennett)
  • Chris Kirchhevel rushes to spray another hot spot along the edge of a wildfire moving through the Dahl Ranch south of Roundup, Mont., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has burned more than 18,000 acres and is still growing. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Firefighters from the Dean Creek Fire Department work to save a home south of Roundup, Mont. on June 26, 2012. Hundreds of families were forced from their homes south of Roundup as a fire pushed by strong winds burned more than 18,000 acres. (AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)
  • Fire rages in Huntington Canyon near Stuart Guard Station at the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. At least five wildfires burned across Utah on Wednesday, taxing resources as firefighters worked feverishly to gain control, with one in the central part of the state continuing to burn with little containment after destroying at least 56 structures, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton)
  • An entire neighborhood burns near the foothills of Colorado Springs, Colo., Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Colorado has endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, sapping moisture from timber and grass, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state and punishing conditions for firefighters. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Helen H. Richardson)
  • Fire from the Waldo Canyon wildfire burns as it moved into subdivisions and destroyed homes in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Gaylon Wampler)
  • A helicopter flies over as the Waldo Canyon Fire continues to burn Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents.(AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
  • Fire rages in Huntington Canyon near Stuart Guard Station at the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. At least five wildfires burned across Utah on Wednesday, taxing resources as firefighters worked feverishly to gain control, with one in the central part of the state continuing to burn with little containment after destroying at least 56 structures, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton)
  • A plume of smoke rises in the background from a wildland fire over a temporary firefighting station set up on the grounds of the Air Force Academy as fires roll through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has forced the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of the communities west of and now in Colorado Springs proper. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
  • A plume of smoke rises behind homes on the Waldo Canyon wildfire west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. A large number of homes were destroyed by the fire Tuesday night in subdivisions west of Colorado Springs. Authorities say it remains too dangerous for them to fully assess the damage from a destructive wildfire threatening Colorado's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
  • Trees are engulfed by flames in Huntington Canyon, Utah, on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, as the Seeley Fire burns in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Officials said Wednesday there was no containment on the fire, which has burned more than 10,000 acres and forced evacuations in Clear Creek, Hiawatha, Wattis and Scofield. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton) DESERET NEWS OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; MAGS OUT
  • Bucket in tow, a helicopter makes a run as a wildfire rolls through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has forced the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of the communities west of and now in Colorado Springs proper. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
  • A plume of smoke rises from Ute Pass in the direction of Woodland Park as the Waldo Canyon Fire burns Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)
  • A helicopter flies past the charred mountainside above Queens Canyon as the Waldo Canyon Fire burns Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)
  • This aerial photo taken on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, shows burned homes in the Mountain Shadows residential area of Colorado Springs, Colo., that were destroyed by the Waldo Canyon wildfire. More than 30,000 have been displaced by the fire, including thousands who frantically packed up belongings Tuesday night after it barreled into neighborhoods in the foothills west and north of Colorado's second-largest city. (AP Photo/John Wark)
  • After being grounded for hours by high winds, a helicopter takes off to battle the Waldo Canyon Fire north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
  • ADDS THAT US AIR FORCE ACADEMY IS IN BACKGROUND, MORE DETAILS - A helicopter takes off to combat wildfires as they roll through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., near the U.S. Air Force Academy, background, on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has destroyed dozens of houses and burned about 10 acres of the academy's 28-square-mile campus. The fire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles and forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents, including 2,200 on the south part of the academy campus. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
  • The Dahl fire south of Roundup, Mont. burns a hillside Wednesday June 27, 2012. Wildfires that have torched more than 200 square miles and burned dozens of homes in southeast Montana spread farther Wednesday, triggering another round of evacuations after a blaze south of Roundup jumped a perimeter line built by firefighters. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Smoke rises from a wildfire burning in Huntington Canyon near Stuart Guard Station at the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. At least five wildfires burned across Utah on Wednesday, taxing resources as firefighters worked feverishly to gain control, with one in the central part of the state continuing to burn with little containment after destroying at least 56 structures, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton)
  • The Dahl fire south of Roundup, Mont. burns a hillside Wednesday June 27, 2012. Wildfires that have torched more than 200 square miles and burned dozens of homes in southeast Montana spread farther Wednesday, triggering another round of evacuations after a blaze south of Roundup jumped a perimeter line built by firefighters. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
  • Fire rages in Huntington Canyon near Stuart Guard Station at the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. At least five wildfires burned across Utah on Wednesday, taxing resources as firefighters worked feverishly to gain control, with one in the central part of the state continuing to burn with little containment after destroying at least 56 structures, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton)
  • Firefighters work against a wildfire near the historic Stuart Guard Station in Huntington Canyon, Utah, on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, as the Seeley Fire burns in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Officials said Wednesday there was no containment on the fire, which has burned more than 10,000 acres and forced evacuations in Clear Creek, Hiawatha, Wattis and Scofield. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton) DESERET NEWS OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; MAGS OUT
  • The sun sets on the front range where the Waldo Canyon Fire continues to burn Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
  • A slurry bomber drops fire retardant on the Waldo Canyon Fire Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
  • A truck drives down state road 31 as smoke rises from a wildfire burning in the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. At least five wildfires burned across Utah on Wednesday, taxing resources as firefighters worked feverishly to gain control, with one in the central part of the state continuing to burn with little containment after destroying at least 56 structures, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton)
  • A helicopters flies over as the Waldo Canyon Fire continues to burn Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
  • The sun is obscured by smoke from a wildfire burning in the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. At least five wildfires burned across Utah on Wednesday, taxing resources as firefighters worked feverishly to gain control, with one in the central part of the state continuing to burn with little containment after destroying at least 56 structures, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul Fraughton)
  • Evacuees of the Waldo Canyon Fire look at the most recent map of the fire's progression at the Cheyenne Mountain High School evacuation center on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The wildfire doubled in size overnight to about 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), and has so far forced mandatory evacuations for more than 32,000 residents. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
  • Incident Commander Rich Harvey uses a map as he talks about the Waldo Canyon wildfire during a briefing in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Authorities say it remains too dangerous for them to fully assess the damage from a destructive wildfire threatening Colorado's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
  • Smoke rises behind homes on the Waldo Canyon wildfire west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Authorities say it remains too dangerous for them to fully assess the damage from a destructive wildfire threatening Colorado's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
  • A plume of smoke rises behind homes on the Waldo Canyon wildfire west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Authorities say it remains too dangerous for them to fully assess the damage from a destructive wildfire threatening Colorado's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
  • CORRECTS CREDIT AND BYLINE - Bobbie Mesmer, daughter of Gary and Linda Blomenkamp, surveys her parents' house, Tuesday afternoon, June 26, 2012 that burned to the ground in the Last Chance Fire in Washington County Road 15 near Highway 71 in Woodrow, Colo., Monday evening, near Last Chance, Colo. Colorado has endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, sapping moisture from timber and grass, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state and punishing conditions for firefighters. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Andy Cross)
  • A tattered American flag stands vigil Tuesday June 26, 2012, over what was David Rico's home after fire destroyed the structure near Helena, Mont. Governor Brian Schwietzer proclaimed there is an imminent threat of disaster due to the fire conditions and is asking Montana residents to not light their fire works this year. (AP Photo/Independent Record, Eliza Wiley)
  • Helena, Mont., residents move their horses down Sierra Road Tuesday June 26, 2012 after evacuations were called for homes on both sides of Green Meadow Road. The nervous horses had to be pushed often to keep them going down the road out of harms way. (AP Photo/Independent Record, Eliza Wiley)
  • A plume of smoke rises in the background from a wildland fire over a temporary firefighting station set up on the grounds of the Air Force Academy as fires roll through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has forced the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of the communities west of and now in Colorado Springs proper. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
  • A plume of smoke rises in the background from a wildland fire over a temporary firefighting station set up on the grounds of the Air Force Academy as fires roll through housing subdivisions in the mountains north and west of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The fire has forced the evacuation of more than 32,000 residents of the communities west of and now in Colorado Springs proper. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A raging wildfire roared through neighborhoods and forced 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs to flee their homes. The 24-square mile fire scorched the edges of the U.S. Air Force Academy on Wednesday. Thick smoke and towering flames cloaked the full scope of damage to Colorado's second-largest city. A separate fire burning in northern Colorado has grown to 136-square miles and destroyed 257 homes. Elsewhere in the West, wildfires in central Utah and Billings, Mont., have each destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds of evacuations. Another wildfire in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest has charred about 19 square miles as of Wednesday.

Comments on this photo » 0

Be the first to post a comment!

Share your thoughts

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.

Comments can be shared on Facebook and Yahoo!. Add both options by connecting your profiles.

Features