COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo, June 14: The remains of two people killed trying to flee the most destructive Colorado wildfire on record were found as crews fought to keep the fierce, wind-driven blaze from roaring into the outskirts of Colorado Springs.
The blaze has ripped across more than 6,215 hectares of rolling, forested terrain northeast of Colorado Springs since it erupted on Tuesday, forcing some 38,000 people to flee their homes.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said the dead, who have not been publicly identified, were recovered yesterday from the garage of one of at least 360 homes destroyed by the so-called Black Forest Fire near the state’s second-largest city.
Maketa indicated the blaze could be the work of an arsonist or the result of negligence, telling reporters that a criminal investigation was under way. He told Reuters there were no signs of lightning strikes in the area when the fire began.
News of the first two casualties from the monster blaze came as firefighters made their first measurable progress against the fire, managing to carve containment lines around 5 per cent of the fire’s perimeter.
Maketa said the victims had been on the phone as the flames closed in on their home.
“The person they were speaking with said he could hear popping and cracking in the background and they (the two people) advised they were leaving right now,” Maketa said. “We were truly hoping that we could get from day to day without coming across news like this.”
With the fire still burning largely unchecked and driven by erratic 48 kph winds that showed no sign of diminishing, officials yesterday ordered mandatory evacuations of about 1,000 homes in the northern tip of Colorado Springs that were considered to be in imminent danger.
“Load your family, and pets and GO NOW,” the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet. The area lies just to the east of the US Air Force Academy.
A voluntary evacuation alert was issued for another 2,000 homes in Colorado Springs, advising those residents to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice, as embers drifted over the city. (agencies)
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