UPDATE 2-Colorado fire near Pikes Peak forces 11000 from homes - Chicago Tribune
Reuters8:46 p.m. CDT, June 24, 2012
(Adds new details on Colorado fire, updates numbers on Utah
evacuations)By Keith CoffmanDENVER, June 24 (Reuters) - A fast-growing wildfire that
blew up overnight in Colorado has forced 11,000 people from
their homes and was threatening popular summer camping grounds
beneath Pikes Peak, billed as the most visited mountain in North
America.
Live summit video from the 14,115-foot (4,302-metre) peak on
Sunday showed plumes of dark smoke billowing in the air, and a
cog railway that ferries tourists up the side of the famous
mountain was shut down because of the wildfires.
The blaze in the Pike National Forest, known as the Waldo
Canyon Fire, has consumed about 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares)
since Saturday and triggered evacuation orders for 11,000 people
from Colorado Springs and nearby towns, fire officials said.
"This is a very, very volatile situation," said emergency
worker Rob Deyerberg at the fire joint information center.
The blaze was just one of 20 uncontrolled fires raging in
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