US, the fire devours forest in Colorado

DENVER (COLORADO) – A forest in smoke from a fire of enormous proportions. It’s happening in Colorado where, fueled by dry winds and summer temperatures, the fire is rapidly devouring a large area of ​​the Pike National Forest and threatening inhabited areas southwest of Denver. The CNN reported that the state authorities have already prepared a plan for evacuating forty thousand people.

Until yesterday evening, the fire, triggered by a camper campfire on Sunday evening about sixty kilometers from Denver, had destroyed 31,000 hectares and the flames continue to advance at speeds of up to 30 km per hour with the result that each hour more than 200 hectares are now under smoke.

“Colorado is being put to the test as never before,” state governor Bill Owens said: “In these weather conditions and considering the material that acts as fuel we cannot do much. At present it is essential to evacuate how many are on the fire route “.

The governor described the scene as “an incredible spectacle. It looks like a nuclear winter. All of Colorado is burning” and then launched an appeal: “Don’t try to defend your property from the flames. The situation is very dangerous.”

11 June 2002