Wildfire

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Even as ribbons of smoke from Colorado's raging wildfires rose in the foothills around them, 1,045 fresh cadets arrived Thursday at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs to begin their basic training. When the Waldo Canyon fire exploded Tuesday night, flames jumped perimeters and charred about 10 acres of the storied installation. More than 2,100 families were quickly evacuated from residential areas of the academy and, as of Thursday, still had not been allowed to return.

Colorado Gov.   John Hickenlooper   announced late Thursday night that the   White House   had declared the fire-stricken state a major disaster, boosting federal help for devastated communities. The High Park fire west of Fort Collins destroyed at least 257 homes this month. And earlier Thursday, Colorado Springs Mayor Stephen Bach announced at least 346 homes had been destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire.  Another blaze, the Flagstaff fire, was burning near Boulder, which appeared safe for the moment.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- As Colorado's wildfires continued to burn unabated, Penny Carroll, frantic for any scrap of information about the fate of her home, pored over an aerial shot on the Internet of her Colorado Springs neighborhood. Then she saw an intact roof - her roof. Or at least she's pretty sure it is. “I have a roof. I'm going with that. Oh, thank God,” she said Thursday, allowing joy to enter her voice for the first time since she fled her home two days earlier.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will travel Friday to areas of Colorado devastated by wildfires, the White House announced Wednesday afternoon. The president has spoken with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and the mayor of Colorado Springs to get the latest developments and express his concern about the extent of the damage, the White House said in a statement. During his visit, he will "view the damage and thank the responders bravely battling the fire," according to the statement.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Marking the worst fire season in Colorado history, three major blazes are burning uncontrolled in the Rocky Mountain state, destroying hundreds of homes, prompting mass evacuations in Colorado Springs and threatening the city of Boulder 100 miles away. For weeks, Colorado has been in a state of siege as the mammoth High Park fire raged unhindered in mountain wilderness west of Fort Collins, destroying 257 rural homesteads and cabins, while residents of cities and suburbs to the east held their collective breath and prayed that the flames would not reach them.

Blistering heat has hindered firefighting efforts across the West, particularly in Colorado, where the damaged regions continue to expand and the number of evacuations continue to grow in tourist areas around Pikes Peak. Wide areas of several states , including Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, remain under red-flag warnings, indicating extreme heat and low moisture that has turned foliage into a tinderbox waiting for the right spark -- either from man or nature -- to ignite wildfires . So far this year, fires have destroyed nearly 1.4 million acres, closing in on the annual average of 1.9 million acres over the last 10 years, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

MASONVILLE, Colo. - Linda Panepinto walked into the tiny post office and tried to muster cheerfulness. Just over the ridge, the High Park fire raged, its thick smoke stinging her eyes and scratching her throat. Monday launched week three of her evacuation limbo - bunking in safety with family, not sure whether she will have a home when it's all over. "Maybe today," she said brightly to postmaster Juillene Hewitt as she picked up her mail. Rumors travel swiftly these days, and the latest was that some canyon residents may get to return to their homes soon.

Two wildfires ravaging Colorado have forced 11,000 evacuations and destroyed more than 200 homes. The Waldo Canyon fire forced the complete evacuation of Manitou Springs over the weekend and evacuations from nearby Colorado Springs and a number of small communities along Highway 24, according to Rob Deyerberg, a spokesman for the firefighters battling the blaze. "We're used to flooding and tornadoes, nothing like this," Amanda Rice of Rock Falls, Ill., told the Associated Press.

Twenty. That's the number of wildfires officials believe recreational shooters have caused so far this summer in Utah. One of those wildfires - the Dump fire 40 miles south of Salt Lake City - prompted 2,300 evacuation notices and has led to a 6,023-acre blaze. It has also led to something of a constitutional controversy in Utah, where state law prevents state agencies from enacting any rule to restrict recreational shooting without the Legislature's permission - even in areas at high risk for fires, even during a drought.