Above: Fire officials now say the wildfire burning northeast of Colorado Springs is the most destructive in state history.
A wildfire burning near Colorado Springs destroyed at least 360 homes, making it the most destructive in the state’s history, authorities said Thursday.
El Paso County sheriff Terry Maketa said that deputies still haven’t been able to verify the condition of 79 homes as the wildfire continues to burn. So it’s possible the figure could rise even higher.
The fire was burning near where the Waldo Canyon fire burned 347 homes last year. It was previously the most destructive in Colorado history.
A separate Colorado wildfire to the south has destroyed 20 structures, including some in Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, and prompted evacuations of about 250 residents and nearly 1,000 inmates at a medium-security prison. To the north, another fire burned in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The fire near Colorado Springs, one of several that broke out Tuesday along Colorado’s Front Range, has prompted evacuation orders and pre-evacuation notices to between 9,000 and 9,500 people and about 3,500 homes and businesses, sheriff’s officials said.
As thousands are ordered to evacuate their homes, below are photos of wildfires burning out of control near Colorado Springs.
Black Forest Fire Dept. officers burn off natural ground fuel in an evacuated neighborhood, prepping the area for the encroachment of the wildfire in the Black Forest area north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. (Photo credit: AP Photo)
Denver Post photographer shoots video of a house burning late in the evening along Swan Road in the Black Forest northeast of Colorado Springs, CO on June 11, 2013. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Shad Dohl, of Colorado Springs watches as smoke rises into the air from the Black Forest Fire June 12, 2013 near Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
A fire-fighting slurry plane makes a pass in preparation drops its load on a wildfire in the Black Forest area north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. (Photo credit: AP Photo)
Jamie Harrison, of the Colorado Springs Therapeutic Riding Center, feeds a fawn in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. A firefighter rescued the week-old fawn from the Black Forest Fire. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
People pulled to over watch from their cars as a fire-fighting slurry plane makes a pass in preparation to drop its load on a wildfire in the Black Forest area north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. (Photo credit: AP Photo)
Fire from the Black Forest Fire burns behind a stand of trees June 12, 2013 near Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
A garage along Herring road is fully involved during the Black Forest Fire northeast of Colorado Springs, CO on June 11, 2013. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
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