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DENVER (AP) – An erratic trail of powder across extremely dry lands in the heart of Colorado's ski country destroyed three homes and forced people to flee, said Thursday
elsewhere in Colorado a rare high altitude tornado They were among over 60 large fires burning across the United States, mainly in the West, where the winds of lashing and increasing heat have
Fires have erupted in the north of California, in Utah and in other areas, where a prolonged and severe drought has dried up forests.
In Colorado, residents of multimillionaire properties, modest condos and mobile homes were ordered to evacuate early Thursday due to an unpredictable wildfire reported the previous night near the city. of Basalt.
The Eagle County Sheriff's Department stated that no other house had been lost outside of the three previously reported.
Fire smoke temporarily halted the flights into the seaside town of Aspen, about 20 miles (32 miles).
A tornado was reported Thursday south of Fairplay, a city in central Colorado, about 10,000 feet above sea level (3000 meters). It appears to be landing at or near the Edge of a forest fire that burned about 17 square miles (43 square kilometers), the Meteorologist of the National Weather Service Russell Danielson
Tornadoes are rare at this altitude and are rarely seen at any forest fire, Daniels said.
Another Colorado forest fire about 330 kilometers southwest of Denver destroyed more than 130 homes and forced more than 2,000 people into three counties to evacuate. It rose to about 160 square miles (nearly 420 square kilometers) on Thursday.
Rain was expected in parts of Colorado, which could mitigate fires, but trigger sudden floods in areas left bare by forest fires. in northern California, where thousands of firefighters battled a forest fire that was already three times the size of San Francisco.
The fire northwest of Sacramento burned nine buildings and 356 square kilometers. However, the authorities did not immediately indicate whether houses had been destroyed in the rural area, although about 110 structures remained under threat, according to state fire officials.
The fire was controlled to 33%. Wednesday has helped firefighters, but it will get warmer and drier from Friday and into the weekend, and it will be a challenge, "said Anthony Brown, a spokesman for the Department of Forests and Protection California Fires.
Authorities claim that a fire that has crossed Interstate 5 south of Oregon's California border has closed southbound lanes in this area In the evening, the southbound lanes would remain closed in Ashland, O. Motorists were advised to take an alternative route to California.
California Governor Jerry Brown said the state of California was the only way to go. emergency for Siskyou County, citing "extreme danger" to people and property There was an evacuation in the small town of Hornbrook
The fire called Klamathon began Thursday afternoon
The Department of forestry and protection against California fires said on Thursday night that the fire had burned nearly 8 square miles. . According to the ministry, multiple structures are threatened, damaged or destroyed.
In northern New Mexico, a forest fire closed a ranch where novelist D. H. Lawrence once sought spiritual renewal. Authorities said that a fire in the Carson National Forest, which has suffered from drought, has burned nearly 4 square kilometers since June 24 and that it's only partially restrained.
Forest restrictions imposed last week closed the DH Lawrence Ranch of the University of New Mexico. He hosted the writer during the summers of 1924 and 1925 as well as the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, the author Willa Cather and the artist Georgia O. Keeffe after the death of Lawrence in 1930. In Utah, warm summer temperatures and winds quickly propelled vegetation flames near a popular fishing lake about two hours southeast of Salt Lake City. The 66 square mile (171 square kilometer) fire near the Strawberry Reservoir burned about 90 structures
The Darren Lewis family cabin is in the fire path and it fears the A-frame structure built 46 years ago by his uncle and father burned, although he is waiting for confirmation.
Lewis, 44, and his extended family planned to spend July 4th on the property in a narrow canyon near a river, but nervously watched social media. The suburb of Magna, Salt Lake City [19659002Morethan1100peoplehavebeenevacuatedinthemountainousregionandthefamilyhasnotbeenabletoreturnsinceMondayhesaidIt'safrequentfamilygatheringplaceandhasspecialsentimentalvaluebecausehisfatherandunclebothdiedlastyear
"It's our place of healing," said Lewis Contreras in Albuquerque,
Dan Elliott in Denver, Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City, and Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.
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