LOS ANGELES —
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity are continuing to aid firefighters battling the Waldo Canyon blaze near Colorado Springs, officials said Monday, but full containment remains at least 10 days away.
The fire, the most destructive in Colorado’s history, has consumed 17,827 acres and is being fought by 1,581 firefighters, according to officials’ morning status report. Containment was listed at 55 percent, with full containment not expected until July 12 at the earliest.
“Slow moving thunderstorms are expected over the fire today, officials noted in their morning post. ”Winds produced by these storms may increase fire activity. The main focus for crews today will be to continue to secure the north perimeter of the fire along West Monument Creek.“
The Waldo Canyon fire has destroyed at least 346 homes. Other fires, including the High Park blaze near Fort Collins, have burned more acreage but fewer structures. The High Park blaze is 100 percent contained.
So far, the Waldo Canyon fire is believed to be responsible for two deaths. The cost of fighting the fire, which is still under investigation, is being estimated at more than $11 million.
At the fire’s peak, more than 32,000 people were forced to leave their homes and flee, but most evacuation orders have been lifted. About 3,000 people remain out of their homes, officials said.
Local District Attorney Dan May told reporters at a news conference that there have been some reports of looting in evacuated neighborhoods. He pledged to be tough on offenders.
The Waldo Canyon fire is among a rash of blazes across several Western states dealing with high heat, low humidity and tinder-like fuel.
In Utah, officials said the state’s largest wildfire has consumed more than 225,000 acres in the western desert area. Known as the Clay Springs fire, it is about 48 percent contained. In Montana, the Ash Creek fire in the eastern part of the state has burned through more than 375,000 acres.
Other fires have been reported in Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico and Nevada.
National News
Related Photos
-
nationalnews.jpg
Discussion
Progress made on Colorado fire, but full containment is days off
- National News
-
-
American will favor passengers without roller bags
If you’re traveling light, you can board earlier on American Airlines.
-
Senate panel considers labor board nominees
Senate Republicans said Thursday they would not support five nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, raising the possibility the troubled agency could be rendered mostly inoperable later this year.
-
No Powerball winner; jackpot soars to $475 million
So you didn’t win Wednesday’s $360 million Powerball jackpot? Make that you and everyone else.
-
INFLUENCE GAME: Tech, labor spar on immigration
To the U.S. technology industry, there’s a dramatic shortfall in the number of Americans skilled in computer programming and engineering that is hampering business.
-
Health reforms penalize some Indians
When Liz DeRouen needs any kind of health care services, from diabetes counseling to a dental cleaning, she checks into a government-funded clinic in Northern California’s wine country that covers all her medical needs.
-
Pennsylvania abortion doctor gets third life sentence
A Philadelphia abortion doctor was sentenced Wednesday to a third life term for killing an aborted baby he described as so big it could “walk to the bus.”
-
For Minnesota gay marriage sponsors, it’s personal
When Gov. Mark Dayton adds his signature to the bill legalizing gay marriage in Minnesota later Tuesday, its two main sponsors will stand triumphantly beside him admiring the fruits of their long and often demoralizing struggle for gay rights.
-
Angelina Jolie says she had double mastectomy
Angelina Jolie says that she has had a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer.
-
Wind farms get pass on eagle deaths
It happens about once a month here, on the barren foothills of one of America’s green-energy boomtowns: A soaring golden eagle slams into a wind farm’s spinning turbine and falls, mangled and lifeless, to the ground.
-
Govt obtains wide AP phone records in probe
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.
- More National News Headlines
-
American will favor passengers without roller bags
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
