Colorado wildfire ranks as most destructive in state history

An 85-square-mile (220-square-km) wildfire raging out of control for a week in northern Colorado has destroyed 181 homes, ranking it as the most destructive blaze in state history, fire officials said on Saturday. The so-called High Park Fire, ignited by lightning in steep mountain terrain 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Fort Collins, and about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Denver, has already been blamed for one death, and the toll of property damage is expected to climb. Hundreds of residents displaced by the fire remain out of their homes, but authorities have slowly been reopening certain neighborhoods deemed safe by assessment crews. The new tally of 181 homes destroyed by the blaze since it erupted last Saturday surpasses the 169 total from a 2010 fire above Boulder. With 54,232 acres (22,000 hectares) charred so far, the High Park is the third-largest wildfire on record in Colorado. The lone casualty reported from the fire was a 62-year-old grandmother whose remains were found in the ashes of the cabin where she lived alone. She became the fourth fatality in a Colorado wildfire this year. In addition to the difficult terrain, extreme heat and at times erratic winds, firefighters have encountered prowling black bears flushed out by smoke and flames, fire spokesman Brett Haberstick said, adding that crews were told to give the bears a wide berth...more