Rookie Firefighter Emily Franklin battled the first fire of her young career as a quickly developing blaze engulfed the town Estes Park. The only problem was that it was her home that was being consumed by the fast-moving flames, reports MSN.

“This is my first fire and it was my own home,” Franklin, 18, told ABC News.”Great way to kick off a career.”

One of several fires that are claiming homes in the Colorado area, Franklin noticed the fire spreading as it approached her home. She quickly ran outside and turned on her water hose, instructing her neighbors to do the same. As fellow firefighters arrived to the neighborhood she ran up to the command center with her gear to receive instructions.

Franklin received her orders and was able to see her home going up in flames in the process. There was nothing she could do as her childhood home was incinerated in the blaze.

“I look through the trees and see fire going under our deck, and I was like, ‘I think that’s my house,’” She said. “It goes up, and I was like, ‘That’s my house!”

Franklin continued to work throughout the day assisting residents as the fire swept through the town, knowing that her home and all of her possessions were gone.

“I guess anything can happen in a matter of 10 minutes,” she said. “Getting out was the most important thing, so that’s what we did.”

This Colorado fire was one among many that firefighters are struggling to contain. The Waldo Canyon fire is the largest of the fires burning over 18,500 acres and reducing hundreds of homes to nothing but ashes.

Rookie Firefighter Fights Colorado Blaze, Watches Own Home Go Up In Flames is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Waldo Canyon wildfire near Colorado Springs has destroyed over 350 homes according to authorities near Colorado Springs, where the fire has displaced thousands of people.

Mercury News reports that Mayor Steve Bach made the announcement on Thursday afternoon about 346 homes that were destroyed on 35 streets, making it the most destructive fire in Colorado history.

More than 32,000 people are still displaced by the fire, and an aerial picture of the Mountain Shadows neighborhood showed houses charred to black rubble. The impacted homeowners will be shown a map of the area on Thursday night at 8 p.m..

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the weather forecast allowed for some optimism that firefighters may make progress with the blaze, with temperatures expected to be 5 degrees cooler than Wednesday. As of mid day on Thursday, the fire was only 10 percent contained, with the blaze reaching $3.2 million in costs.

MSNBC reports that Mayor Bach, after touring the Mountain Shadows subdivision and surrounding areas, stated:

“There was nothing left in some areas — burned out foundations that were smoldering. It looked like a nuclear weapon had been dropped. It’s as close to hell as I could imagine.”

According to Mercury News, Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey noted that no deaths or injuries have been reported in the fire that forced 30,000 people to flee from their homes on Wednesday, although he does anticipate a spike in crime in affected areas. Carey confirmed there has been one burglary arrest so far, on Thursday morning. He also believes that some damage being reported could have been made by first-responders in an effort to save lives and property.

Mayor Bach also noted that, despite the devastation the area is seeing, residents are banding together. Bach stated:

“All over the city people have taken in strangers and friends of friends of friends. Everywhere we turn, people are helping people.”

More than 1,200 firefighters are currently working to contain the Waldo Canyon fire.

[Images courtesy of MSNBC]

Colorado’s Waldo Canyon Wildfire Destroys 350 Homes is a post from: The Inquisitr

The wildfire in Colorado continues to grow and more and more people are being forced to flee their homes. Last night, the Waldo Canyon fire doubled in size, forcing officials to issue a mandatory evacuation for 32,000 people.

CBS reports that the fire currently covers about 24 square miles.  Mercury News reports that the Waldo Canyon fire has consumed 15,324 acres and is now nearing Colorado Springs, the state’s second largest city.

No injuries have been reported yet but several homes have been destroyed.

According to Steve Cox, an aide to Mayor Steve Bach, the fire has destroyed “dozens” of houses. An exact number is not known at this time.

Colorado Springs Fire Chief Richard Brown also refused to give an exact number but did say that his department is on the “offensive” and is doing everything it can to save homes.

Brown said:

“We’re in an offensive position. We’re doing everything we can to save homes…. Our people have been fighting that all night long — they’re fighting while we speak.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper, who surveyed the fire from a helicopter, said:

“It was like looking at the worst movie set you could imagine… It’s almost surreal. You look at that, and it’s like nothing I’ve seen before.”

Mercury News notes that the Waldo Canyon Fire isn’t the only wildfire burning its way through Colorado. The High Park fire, west of Fort Collins, has already destroyed 87,250 acres. The High Park Fire has destroyed more than 250 homes and is considered the most destructive in state history.

Hickenlooper said:

“The bottom line is we’re just going to have to work through this — all of us…. We just flew over the fires. … It was like looking at a military invasion.”

Waldo Canyon Fire Forces 32,000 Residents To Evacuate is a post from: The Inquisitr

The High Park wildfire in Colorado is officially the state’s most destructive, with a new total of 181 homes destroyed and 85 square miles scorched black on Saturday.

The High Park Fire, which is burning about 15 miles west of Fort Collins, has officially surpassed the Fourmile Canyon Fire, which destroyed 169 homes in September 2010 west of Boulder, according to MSNBC.

The Denver Post notes that Saturday morning’s fire briefing put the fire at over 54,232 acres burned, which makes it the third-largest in Colorado’s history. The only two fires that surpass it were both started in 2002 and were the Hayman fire at 137,760 acres and the Missionary Ridge fire at 71,739 acres.

According to Yahoo News, fire information officer Brett Haberstick stated that more than 1,500 personnel are working to contain the Fort Collins fire, which started because of lightning. It is believed to have killed a 62-year-old woman, whose body was found in her cabin.

Haberstick also noted that the fire is only 20 percent contained, and full containment could be between two and four weeks away. He noted that hot and dry conditions were expected to continue, but that crews had made significant progress in containing a small spot fire, which erupted on Thursday afternoon north of the Cache La Poudre River. Haberstick stated:

“We’re hopeful that we will be able to contain it today, but that will be determined by Mother Nature. We’re going to continue to work to make our forests more resilient. We’re going to continue to ensure that adequate resources are provided for fighting fires and we are going to continue to make sure that we encourage appropriate stewardship of our forests.”

Check out more information about the High Park Fire below:

Colorado Wildfire Burns Through 181 Homes, 85 Square Miles is a post from: The Inquisitr

An 8,000 acre Colorado wildfire rapidly spread overnight causing 14,000 acres to become engulfed in flames while forcing evacuations.

The new acreage total was released by the sheriff’s office on Sunday as firefighters continued to battle the blaze that has been named the High Park fire. The wildfire has been helped along by high temperatures and dry brush since it began Saturday morning just 15 miles west of Fort Collins.

So far eighteen structures have been damaged or burned down although details about those losses have not yet been revealed.

Some residents were moved to an emergency shelter at a middle school in La Porte and a highway in the area was closed.

To reach residents nearly 1,600 phones lines were contacted as evacuations were the number-one priority for residents. Police and local firefighters also went door to door to ensure that residents had been safely evacuated from the area. In one incident a wedding party was forced to flee after attempting to celebrate the special occasion just miles from the approaching flames.

The Colorado wildfire has spread despite the best efforts of 250 firefighters working alongside air tankers and helicopters.

In the meantime officials are being met with a lack of resources brought on after regional workers were sent out to deal with the Whitewater Baldy fire in New Mexico and other smaller wildfires in other parts of the region.

At this time officials are still not certain what caused the Colorado Wildfire and they believe cooler conditions will not necessarily help the situation in the short-term.

Colorado Wildfire Grows Overnight From 8,000 To 14,000 Acres is a post from: The Inquisitr

As the Hewlett Fire continues to grow, the U.S. Forest Service investigators announced that James J. Weber of Fort Collins, Colorado, has been cited for starting the wildfire, which has spread to cover more than 12 square miles.

Huffington Post reports that the mental health counselor at Colorado State University has been cited with a $300 fine, plus a $25 processing fee for starting the blaze. He will not face criminal charges, because he reprotedly attempted to stamp out the blaze.

The Forest Service will also reportedly seek restitution for the fire, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver on Friday.

According to the Coloradoan, the U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman, Jeff Dorschner, stated on Friday that Weber did not immediately go from the Hewlett Gulch Trail to the Sheriff’s Office. Instead, Dorschner stated:

“He went home and he later, first in person and later by phone, reported that he started the fire to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.”

James J. Weber reportedly started the blaze when a camp stove fell over in the wind, and got out of control. He attempted to stamp it out, but fled when the fire took over. There is no cell phone service in the area where the counselor was camping, leaving him no way to call and alert authorities.

Huffington Post reports that no buildings have been damaged in the Hewlett fire, which has been burning since Monday. The blaze was reportedly 45 percent contained on Saturday morning, and more than 500 firefighters were on the scene, hoping that cool, humid weather would help to further contain the wildfire.

Hewlett Fire: CSU Counselor Cited For Starting Blaze is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Hewlett fire in Colorado has grown to over 7,000 acres, and is reportedly only 5% contained, according to the latest updates on the fast-moving wildfire.

KUNC reports that:

“Governor John Hickenlooper has declared a disaster emergency for the Hewlett Fire burning northwest of Fort Collins. The Executive Order makes available $3 million from the state’s Disaster Emergency Fund to help pay for fire suppression. The Governor has also activated Colorado National Guard resources to help the Forest Service fight the fire.”

Authorities reportedly ordered the evacuation of 80 homes in and around Poudre Canyon on Thursday. According to Huffington Post, 69 of those homes’ residents were allowed to return in the evening, however they have been placed on alert, in case they need to leave again.

Over 400 firefighters are on the scene already, and more will be arriving soon. Resident John Hasler stated on Thursday that he does not plan to leave his home. He stated that this is the second time in ten years he has been asked to evacuate because of a fire. He said

“I was more worried when that (2004) fire was coming through here. It had already burned around 10,000 acres and destroyed a home and was moving with some force when it was heading here.”

The fire is only 5 percent contained, and authorities are working to slow its progress before it destroys more homes. They are expecting Friday to be what they call an “active” day for the fire, as it is fueled by hot temperatures and winds.

The Coloradoan reports that Greg Heule, a fire spokesman, stated:

“We’re expecting to see more aggressive fire behavior today. Yesterday was a good day. We accomplished a lot yesterday. And what we accomplished yesterday is going to help us with the fire today.”

The Hewlett fire is burning about 80 miles northwest of Denver. Smoke from the blaze has drifted almost 45 miles south.

Colorado’s Hewlett Wildfire Grows To Over 7,000 Acres is a post from: The Inquisitr

The fire, initially only about five acres when it was first reported, now covers more than 3,000 acres and has destroyed as many as 15 to 25 houses.

No information was released about the person who died but the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said it occurred in the fire zone.

Firefighters are hoping to get air tankers Tuesday to fight the fire.

“We’ve asked for air support and we’re hoping, crossing our fingers, that we get that tomorrow,” Jefferson County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley told ABC News on Monday. “We asked for it today and they simply couldn’t fly because it’s too dangerous.”

Kelly added the wildfire may have been a controlled burn from last week that was fanned back to life on a windy day.

CS Monitor writes that in addition to the Conifer wildfire, another fire burned up to 50 acres near Lookout Mountain west of Denver.

The sheriff’s department said residents of two homes were asked to evacuate.

The fire was contained late Monday.

Up to a dozen smaller fires were reported from the northeast Colorado plains to the southern part of the state Monday. There were no immediate reports of injuries or structures destroyed in any of the other fires.

For more information on the 2012 Conifer Colorado wildfire, watch the following news video:

Colorado Wildfire 2012: 1 Person Found Dead, 900 Homes Evacuated, 3000 Acres Burned [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr