Reuters12:19 a.m. CDT, June 25, 2012


(Adds 30 structures destroyed in Utah; updates evacuation
figure)By Keith CoffmanDENVER, June 24 (Reuters) - A fast-growing wildfire in
Colorado forced 11,000 people from their homes at least briefly
on Sunday and threatened popular summer camping grounds beneath
Pikes Peak, whose vistas helped inspire the patriotic tune
"America the Beautiful."
Live summit video from the 14,115-foot (4,302-metre) peak
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