Colorado fires scorch state; thousands evacuated

Fast-moving wildfires lit up central Colorado, forcing thousands from their homes and scorching some 12,000 acres of brush and timber. Of the five fires burning, the most problematic was the Black Forest Fire. Tinder-dry conditions and gusty winds fueled the fire, just northeast of Colorado Springs, prompting mandatory evacuations over an area covering 24,000 acres and about 5,000 homes. "Complacency is a dangerous gamble," El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said. "Be prepared to leave and leave orderly."