DENVER (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 fromColorado 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.
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