June 27, 2012 – Hundreds of IAFF members are on the ground in Colorado fighting 12 large wildfires. While all of the fires are serious, the most dangerous appears to be the Waldo Canyon Fire located west of Colorado Springs.

Strong winds caused the fire to double in size and spread past containment lines on June 26. “All of our Colorado Springs Local 5 members have been called in to work this fire,” says IAFF 9th District Vice President Randy Atkinson. “It is not just them out there either; it is fire fighters from across the state and from other states as well.”

Despite its proximity to the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial, it is believed unlikely that the fire will reach the memorial. “The fire would have to travel 10-12 miles south and east to be any threat,” says Atkinson. “Because it would also have to travel through downtown Colorado Springs to get there, this scenario seems unlikely.”

However, fire officials there say the blaze which started on June 23 is now 24 square miles in size and nowhere near contained. Therefore, Colorado Springs’ emergency management has called for the mandatory evacuations of 32,000 citizens including the cadets and staff at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Meanwhile, the largest of the 12 fires burning in Colorado – the High Park Fire – is 65 percent contained. The fire, which is just north of Fort Collins, has burned more than 87,000 acres and at least 257 homes.

Officials believe a lightning strike on June 6 smoldered for days and then ignited the fire on June 9.