Wildfires continue to scorch swaths of Colorado early Thursday while new blazes have destroyed homes in Utah and burned through Wyoming, at a time when Western states are experiencing acute drought.
The Colorado blaze, known as the 416 Fire, began on June 1 near the city of Durango, which is near the state’s southern border with New Mexico. The National Wildfire Coordinating Group said more than 1,000 people have been dispatched and close to 2,000 homes have been evacuated. Some evacuees were allowed to return home Wednesday afternoon, but they remained under orders to prepare to possibly leave again.
Photographer Hank Blum posted to social media a timelapse of the fire and smoke billowing near Durango earlier this week.
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