(Various Maps Displayed Below)
The Waldo Canyon fire that has forced more than 32,000 people to flee their homes in the vicinities of Colorado Springs is 15 percent contained as of 8 p.m. Thursday according to the Denver Post.
A 10 percent increase in containment is good news for the local residents who have seen hundreds of people lose their homes and have felt the constant threat of the unrelenting flames.
As far as fully controlling the fire, the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday told Reuters that the fire could be fully contained by mid-July.
Since the fire began on June 23rd, people were evacuated from Manitou Springs, Woodland Park, some subdivisions of the city of Colorado Springs and other smaller local communities which forced to seek shelter elsewhere.
However by Thursday night, the mandatory evacuations were lifted for the areas west of I-25 and south of Rockrimmon which is good news for some who finally have the opportunity to return to their homes.
In a news conference earlier on Thursday, the Colorado Springs mayor, Steve Bach confirmed that the Waldo Canyon fire had destroyed a total 346 homes, making it the most destructive fire in Colorado's history.
The City of Colorado Springs then made a call to assemble the residents living in the fire-hit areas in order to inform them the status of their homes. The meetings were scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Gallogly Events Center, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
According to state officials, more than 20,000 homes and 160 commercial buildings are still under the threat of the fire and so far the cost of containing the fire has exceeded $3.2 million.
Some 20,000 or more people in the area north of the Air Force Academy down through the southwestern region of Douglas County were also given the pre-evacuation announcement.
President Barack Obama on Friday plans to visit Colorado Springs to tour the various fire-hit locations. He will assess the damage and give support to the local relief staff.
The White House recently posted readout of President Obama's Calls to Governor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach containing following message:
The President expressed his concern about the extent of damage to homes in the Colorado Springs area...
The President reiterated his administration's focus, through the US Forest Service as well as the Department of Interior and FEMA, on continuing to bring all resources to bear to assist local responders in Colorado and a number of Western States currently being impacted by fires. Seventeen air tankers have cycled in and out of firefighting action over the last 48 hours across the western states. More than 8,400 personnel, 578 fire engines and 79 helicopters are operating on wildfires around the U.S., with more than half of active federal wildfire-fighting resources are currently staged in Colorado.
Cause of Fire
Although initially the cause of the fire was thought to be lightning, further investigations by local government officials and the FBI may have reason to believe that the fire might have started by an arsonist.
Help & Donations
Donations to those affected by the Waldo Canyon, Flagstaff, High Park and other fires could be directed by contacting the following agencies found in this domain:
https://www.helpcoloradonow.org/
Waldo Canyon Fire Maps
June 28
Colorado Springs Evacuation Map
View The Gazette's Evacuations Area and Fire Vicinity in a larger map
For a more comprehensive map display of the Colorado fires, click here