Colorado Wildfires 2013: Royal Gorge Fire Forces Prison Evacuation, Black Forest Fire Burns Up To 100 Homes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A wildfire fueled by hot temperatures, gusty winds and thick, bone-dry forests has destroyed 92 homes, damaged five more and prompted more than 7,000 residents northeast of Colorado Springs to flee, sheriff's official said Wednesday.

A separate Colorado wildfire to the south has destroyed 20 structures, including some in Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, and prompted evacuations of about 250 residents and nearly 1,000 inmates at a medium-security prison. To the north, another fire burned in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Wildfires also were burning in New Mexico, Oregon and California, where a smokejumper was killed fighting one of dozens of lightning-sparked fires.

Crews were so busy battling blazes across the West that the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday it was mobilizing a pair of Defense Department cargo planes to help – a step taken only when all of the Forest Service's contracted tankers already are in use.

The fire near Colorado Springs, one of several that broke out Tuesday along Colorado's Front Range, has prompted evacuation orders and pre-evacuation notices to between 9,000 and 9,500 people and about 3,500 homes and businesses, sheriff's officials said.

Some Colorado Springs residents were warned to be ready to evacuate, mostly because of a fear of flying embers spreading the fire into the state's second-largest city. Sheriff's officials also evacuated part of neighboring Elbert County, including two camps with a total of about 1,250 children and adults.

Bits of ash and the smell of smoke drifted into Denver, about 60 miles to the north, where the haze blocked the sun.

No injuries or deaths have been reported, but El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said officials were trying to confirm the whereabouts of one person reported missing Wednesday. Firefighters tried to go where the person was last seen but were turned back twice because it was too hot, he said.

Maketa said he was worried about those who chose to ignore evacuation orders and stay behind.

"One of my worst fears is that people took their chances and it may have cost them their life," he said.

The area is not far from last summer's Waldo Canyon Fire that destroyed 346 homes and killed two people.

Denver Broncos guard Ben Garland's grandparents lost their home in that blaze and now live in a Black Forest neighborhood. Smoke billowed near their new home Wednesday.

"It's tough. It was tough going through it the first time," Garland said. "I know the first time, we didn't take it as seriously. We just thought it'd pass over and the firefighters would take care of it. The second time, it was really scary and they packed up real quick and got ready to go."

The Forest Service mobilized specially equipped Defense Department C-130s to drop slurry on wildfires in the West after all 12 of its air tankers were deployed. At least one was fighting the Black Forest Fire.

By law, the Modular Airborne Firefighting System – MAFFS – planes can be deployed only when all of the Forest Service's contracted tankers are in use. Around this time last year, the aircraft sat on runways when massive wildfires burned in Colorado and New Mexico.

In northeast California, Luke Sheehy was fatally injured this week by part of a falling tree in Modoc National Forest. The 28-year-old from Susanville, Calif., was a member of the Redding-based California Smokejumpers – firefighters who parachute into remote areas from airplanes.

In New Mexico, a wildfire burning in the steep, narrow canyons of the Pecos Wilderness north of Santa Fe grew to more than 12 square miles Wednesday. It was burning about 10 miles southeast of some small communities. Crews planned to build fire lines and clear out fuel in key areas miles ahead of the blaze in hopes of protecting the communities if the fire heads that way.

In southwestern New Mexico, firefighters were trying to keep a massive wildfire from reaching an old mining town whose 45 or so residents have been evacuated. That fire was burning in a mountainous area of dense forest.

About 60 miles southwest of Colorado's Black Forest Fire, a 4.5-square-mile wildfire that evacuated Royal Gorge Bridge & Park has destroyed 20 structures, including some in the park, but the park's animals are all right.

Black Forest Fire Video Reveals Horror Of Growing Blaze In Southern Colorado (VIDEO)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — At least four major wildfires fueled by hot, gusty weather burned along the front of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado on Tuesday, destroying a handful of large houses and chasing people from hundreds of homes.

Thick smoke plumes visible for miles billowed from fires near Colorado Springs, in southern Colorado, and in Rocky Mountain National Park to the north.

A wildfire in a heavily wooded residential area northeast of Colorado Springs led to the mandatory evacuations of more than 1,000 homes, including some worth more than $1 million, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said.

Video from a helicopter showed several large homes engulfed in flames. About eight homes had burned, Maketa said, but he had no exact number because the fire was moving so quickly across the parched forest.

"Right now the firefighters are more focused on fighting fires, drawing lines. And law enforcement, to be very honest, is scrambling to get people out of there as well as do searches," Maketa said. He said firefighters have shifted from evacuation mode to search-and-rescue mode.

Military officials said a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the Colorado Army National Guard and three helicopters from Fort Carson were helping firefighters. Another National Guard helicopter was on standby for search and rescue.

The area is not far from last summer's devastating Waldo Canyon Fire that destroyed 346 homes and killed two.

"It's very, very reminiscent of what we experienced in Waldo Canyon," Maketa said.

All of the fires were moving quickly, driven by record temperatures and strong winds. The conditions were making it difficult to build containment lines around the fire, and sparks jumped across them.

"Weather is not working with us right now, but our guys are giving it a heck of a shot," Maketa said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in any of the fires.

In southern Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management said three structures have been lost in a fire on about 6 square miles near the Royal Gorge Bridge. Authorities evacuated Royal Gorge Bridge & Park.

A third wildfire in southern Colorado erupted Tuesday in rural Huerfano County. The Klikus Fire had burned an estimated 45 to 50 acres west of La Veta, prompting evacuation orders for about 200 residences.

The causes of those fires weren't immediately confirmed.

A fourth wildfire sparked by lightning Monday in Rocky Mountain National Park quickly grew to an estimated 300 to 400 acres Tuesday. No structures were threatened.

In the Colorado Springs area, George Gonzales, 74, and his wife were spending the night in their motorhome in the parking lot of a Red Cross shelter set up for evacuees from the Black Forest Fire. He said the two had been eating lunch in town when his daughter got an alert on her phone about the fire and called them.

An officer let them go back home to retrieve their dogs, their motorhome and truck, and his heart medicine, George Gonzales said.

"Sure, we're worried, but we're hoping for the best," he said.