Destructive wildfires have swept across Colorado leaving homes in ruins and forcing the evacuation of thousands. More than 32,000 residents in Colorado Springs have been forced to evacuate and in High Park, Colo. 257 homes have burned.
I was in Northern Colorado over the weekend and was amazed at the scale of the smoke rising from the mountains. Where the mountains normally make a crisp jagged cut on the sky at the horizon, there was only soft gray hint of their majesty. At certain times of the day they were not visible at all. From the tops of the rolling terrain in the foothills, a haze of yellow gray smoke hung over a huge swath of the region.
Here are photos of the fires across the state.
Smoke rises from a wildfire in High Park in Northern Colorado Saturday June, 23. The fire has destroyed 257 homes. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/ Tulsa World
The Waldo Canyon wildfire continues to grow in Colorado Springs, Colo, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Teller County officials warned residents east of U.S. 24 and north of the El Paso/Teller County line to be prepared to leave. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Hyoung Chang)
People watch from Mesa Road as the Waldo Canyon Fire burns near Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday, June 25, 2012. The fire, one of at least a half-dozen wildfires in Colorado as of Monday, has blackened 5.3 square miles and displaced about 6,000 people since it started Saturday. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
Fire from the Waldo Canyon wildfire burns as it moved into subdivisions and destroyed homes in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Gaylon Wampler)
A heavy tanker drops fire retardant while fighting the Flagstaff wildfire on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in Boulder, Colorado. (AP Photo/Jeremy Papasso, Daily Camera)
Homes are destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire in the Mountain Shadows area of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. A stubborn and towering wildfire jumped firefighters? perimeter lines in the hills overlooking Colorado Springs, forcing frantic mandatory evacuation notices for more than 9,000 residents. (AP Photo/The Gazette,Jerilee Bennett)
Ryan Kent, 6, left, and Caden Manes, 8, watch as officials respond to the Waldo Canyon wildfire Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Colorado has endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, sapping moisture from timber and grass, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state and punishing conditions for firefighters. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Helen H. Richardson)
Bobbie Mesmer, daughter of Gary and Linda Blomenkamp, surveys her parents' house, Tuesday afternoon, June 26, 2012 that burned to the ground in the Last Chance Fire in Washington County Road 15 near Highway 71 in Woodrow, Colo., Monday evening, near Last Chance, Colo. Colorado has endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, sapping moisture from timber and grass, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state and punishing conditions for firefighters. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Andy Cross)
People watch from Mesa Road as a wildfire continues to burn west of Colorado Springs, Colo. on Sunday, June 24, 2012. The fire erupted Saturday and grew out of control to more than 3 square miles early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of more than 11,000 residents and an unknown number of tourists. (AP Photo/The Colorado Springs Gazette, Susannah Kay)
A deer jumps through a fence along U.S. Highway 24 near Manitou Springs, Colo., as a wildfire burns near Cascade, Colo., on Sunday, June 24, 2012. The fire erupted and grew out of control to more than 3 square miles early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of more than 11,000 residents and an unknown number of tourists. (AP Photo/The Colorado Springs Gazette, Christian Murdock)
In this Saturday, June 23, 2012 photo provided by Darrell Spangler, a firefighter works the scene of a home being consumed by flames in Estes Park, Colo. As many as 21 structures were destroyed by the fire on Saturday. Eight separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, which is seeing record-breaking heat. (AP Photo/Darrell Spangler)
A helicopter flies towards the flames as the Waldo Canyon wildfire spreads to the north Tuesday afternoon, June 26, 2012, near Colorado Springs, Colo. Colorado has endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, sapping moisture from timber and grass, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state and punishing conditions for firefighters. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring)
People watch as smoke billows from a wildfire west of Colorado Springs, Colo. on Saturday, June 23, 2012. The fire has grown to an estimated 600 acres and The Gazette reports authorities are evacuating the exclusive Cedar Heights neighborhood as well as the Garden of the Gods nature center. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)
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