Firefighters on Wednesday continued to battle three wildfires that burned across thousands of acres of Colorado grassland, forcing hundreds of residents to be evacuated and leading to the deaths of two firefighters and one pilot. One of the wildfires was not contained and still growing early Wednesday. On Tuesday, winds gusted up to 80 kilometers per hour (kph) along the Rocky Mountains and eastern plains, fueling flames that had spread across 36 square kilometers of grassland near Ordway. Authorities told all 1,200 residents of the town to depart, and they had not been allowed to return on Wednesday. Winds were blowing at less than 16 kph early Wednesday at Pueblo, about 80 kilometers west of Ordway, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. Rain was possible in parts of the area during the afternoon, and there was a chance of up to 30 centimeters of snow in Colorado's eastern mountains beginning Wednesday evening and lasting into Thursday morning, NWS said. Firefighters had contained 80 percent of the Ordway wildfire, which damaged at least 24 buildings, authorities said. Two volunteer firefighters were killed when a bridge damaged by flames collapsed under their fire truck. A firefighting airplane crashed Tuesday near Fort Carson, killing the pilot, and residents living near the base had been forced to evacuate the area.
