Colorado Wildfire Now Biggest in State History

A wildfire burning in Colorado is now the biggest in the state's recorded history—breaking a record set less than three months ago. The Cameron Peak Fire, which started in mid-August, has now burned more than 203,000 acres of land in the north-central part of the state and was 62% contained as of early Monday, the Denver Post reports. A newer blaze in the region, the CalWood fire, has burned more than 8,700 acres and has forced at least 3,000 people to flee their homes, reports USA Today. The fire, which started near the Cal-Wood Education Center 17 miles from Boulder Saturday, is already the biggest in Boulder County's history. It was 15% contained as of early Monday.

Authorities say the CalWood fire has destroyed dozens of homes. One of them belonged to Courtney Walsh, who says she was given 30 minutes' notice to evacuate with her pets and two children on Saturday afternoon. "It wasn’t real at that moment that we wouldn’t be returning," she tells the Colorado Sun. "I was just frozen." She discovered Sunday that her home had burned to its foundation. "We’re all safe and that's what matters," she says. The 1,500 firefighters battling the Cameron Peak Fire, meanwhile, were helped by lower winds and higher humidity over the weekend. (More Colorado stories.)