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Colorado wildfire burns over 160 homes

10 September 2010 01:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least 169 houses in Colorado have been reduced to ashes as flames towering skyward forced residents to pack up and run for their lives, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

Firefighters have managed to build contain 30 percent of the fire, which has charred 6,365 acres or about 25 sq km (10 sq miles).

Some 500 firefighters and support personnel are designated to beat back the wildfire.

A total of 100,000 gallons of retardant has been used and firefighting costs have reached USD 2.1 million so far, the Associated Press reported.

Nine people are reported missing in the fire. Firemen have launched an investigation into cause of the inferno.

Fire officials assume a sharp drop in humidity levels, high temperatures as well as gusts of up to 96 km/h (60 mph) in the foothills spread the fire beyond the 32-kilometer (20-mile) -long perimeter.