Colo. Fire Forces Evacuation of 900 Prisoners

Wildfires are raging in Colorado, and one of them caused more than 900 prisoners to be evacuated from a state prison early today. The medium- and low-risk prisoners were taken by bus to other prisons, a spokesperson tells the AP. The fire hasn't actually reached the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, but "this was done as a precaution because it takes a lot of time to move the prisoners," she explains.

But dozens of homes have been destroyed, according to the AP, which puts the number of blazes in the Front Range area at four. The Black Forest Fire is burning in a residential area, and has burned as many as 60 homes since starting yesterday; 6,400 have been forced to evacuate, but no injuries have been reported. (The AP earlier reported that the area has large homes sitting on two to five acres each, some of them worth more than $1 million.) Record temperatures and strong winds were driving the fires quickly, and NBC News reports that fire departments are stretched thin. (More Colorado stories.)