Policy

Two Killed in Colorado Fires

Died while trying to escape

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Two people have been killed by the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, law enforcement officials have said, as crews fought to keep the fierce, wind-whipped blaze from roaring into the outskirts of Colorado Springs.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said on Thursday the bodies of two people had been recovered in the burn area of the so-called Black Forest Fire, which has destroyed at least 360 homes near the northeastern fringe of the state's second-largest city.

The blaze has ripped across more than 6,215 hectares of terrain northeast of Colorado Springs since it erupted on Tuesday, forcing some 38,000 people to flee the flames.