Toll from Colorado wildfire raised to 248 homes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – The total number of homes destroyed by a two-week old wildfire in northern Colorado was raised to 248 on Sunday as residents of a subdivision near Fort Collins learned that 57 more homes in their neighborhood had been lost, authorities said.

Fire officials had previously said that 191 homes had burned, the most in state history. The High Park Fire is the second-largest wildfire and among the most expensive in Colorado's history. It has scorched more than 130 square miles and was just 45 percent contained on Sunday, The Denver Post reported.

With a total of eight fires burning, Colorado is having its worst wildfire season in a decade.

A fire near Colorado Springs erupted Saturday and grew out of control to more than 3 square miles early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of more than 11,000 residents and an unknown number of tourists. Authorities said Sunday that they were allowing about 5,000 of those residents to return. .................(more)

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