Damages can’t be assessed
Nearly 30,000 people have evacuated their homes Tuesday night near Colorado Springs against a destructive wildfire. Only 5% of the fire has been contained, according to officials. Authorities are still unable to assess the damage the wildfire has caused.
According to fire information officer, Rob Deyerberg told Reuters, The Waldo Canyon Fire has burned through 15,375 acres. “That means it made a run of roughly 9,000 acres in a matter of hours yesterday afternoon,” he said. So far no injuries have been reported.
Richard Brown, Colorado Springs Fire Chief, said during a morning news briefing, “We’re in an offensive position. We’re doing everything we can to save homes…Don’t be deceived by what you see across the valley…Our people have been fighting that all night long—they’re fighting while we speak.”
According to the Washington Post firefighters have been fighting the fire during “record-setting heat against fires fueled by prolong drought. States like Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana are red flagged under the conditions of extreme fire danger.
In Denver on Tuesday temperatures were at a record-setting 100 degrees for the fifth straight day and the heat is expected to further continue for the next several days in 90 degrees temperatures.
Derek Arndt, head of climate monitoring at the National Climate Data Center, said the nation is experiencing “a super-heated spike on top of decades-long warming trend.” A combination of wind gusts—65 mph—along with the heat is said to have helped spread the fire.
Residents in the southewest part of the county has been issued a pre-evacuation notice by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, “The Waldo Canyon fire burning in El Paso County is expanding and poses a threat.”
