US wildfire bursts into Colorado residential area

COLORADO SPRINGS: A massive wildfire swept through a residential area of Colorado's second most populous city on Wednesday, forcing 36,000 people to flee and prompting President Barack Obama to plan a trip to the western US state.

The fire, which began in Waldo Canyon over the weekend and has destroyed more than 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares), careened into the Colorado Springs community of Mountain Shadows on Tuesday, doubling in size overnight and setting alight the mountains that rim the city.

With the inferno -- one of several in the US west -- showing little sign of abating, the White House announced that Obama would visit Colorado Friday.

In phone calls Wednesday with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach, Obama expressed his concern about the extent of the damage and "informed both that his thoughts and prayers are with responders and families impacted by these and other fires burning across the western United States," a statement said.

Another fire raging about 60 miles northwest of Denver -- described by the Denver Post as Colorado's second-largest in history -- has eaten through 87,284 acres. That blaze, known as the High Park Fire, which was ignited by lightning, is now 65 percent contained.

Firefighters are also working to keep the Flagstaff Fire -- estimated at just over 200 acres -- away from the city of Boulder, home to the University of Colorado.

Several more blazes are scorching other parts of the state, including one dubbed the Little Sand Fire, located 13 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs that was sparked by lightning on May 13th and has burned through 22,440 acres of land.

Among the areas threatened by the Waldo Canyon fire was the US Air Force Academy, which evacuated two housing areas, a day before the scheduled arrival of 1,000 new cadets, the academy said.

Officials declined to estimate the number of homes destroyed in the fire's wake, but feared the figure would be high.

Owners of the Flying W Ranch, a working cattle ranch known nationally for its western-style restaurant, said on their website that it had been "burned to the ground."

Soaring temperatures have compounded the agony for teams battling the blaze, which is estimated to be only five percent contained and has spread quickly since it began on Saturday.

Turbulent winds on Tuesday afternoon prompted authorities to seek evacuations of up to 32,000 residents, with that number rising to 36,000 on Wednesday, Hickenlooper told broadcaster CNN.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.