Colorado Wildfire: Blaze Destroys 473 Homes
Nearly 500 homes are destroyed in Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever as a surprise rain shower helps contain the blaze.
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The number of homes destroyed in Colorado's most destructive wildfire on record has neared 500 as evacuation orders are beginning to be lifted.
Authorities reported on Saturday that 473 homes had been incinerated in the Colorado Springs area.
Two people died in the massive wildfire. Their bodies were found in the garage of a home in a heavily wooded area.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said the doors of a car in the garage were open "as if they were loading or grabbing last-minute things".
"All evidence from the scene is they were planning on departing," he added.
Authorities have begun lifting evacuation orders after firefighters made a dramatic advance against the blaze on Friday.
A surprise rain shower helped firefighters expand containment on the fire outside of Colorado Springs - the state's second largest city.
As many as 5,000 people are thought to live in neighbourhoods east, north and west of the fire, where the evacuation orders have been lifted.
The Black Forest Fire began on Tuesday and is now 30% contained.
Police believe the blaze, which has ripped through more than 24 square miles of forested terrain, may have been started by an arsonist or as a result of negligence.
Nearly 40,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as 800 firefighting personnel battled the flames.
It is expected to take another week to fully control the blaze.
The disaster has surpassed last summer's devastating Waldo Canyon Fire which destroyed 347 homes and killed two people.
