Five people remained missing late Wednesday as firefighters battled for a third day to contain a major wildfire in the western US state of Colorado, officials said.
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| Smoke rises from a wildfire burning near Boulder, Colorado, on September 7. |
Sporadic rainfall helped douse the blaze, but the fire -- which erupted Monday in Fourmile Canyon northwest of the state capital Denver -- affected about 6,400 acres (2,600 hectares) of land, according to an afternoon update.
The fires destroyed some 140 homes and other buildings, up from 92 reported earlier in the day, officials confirmed.
"It\'s still spread out over the burn area," said Laura McConnell of the Rocky Mountain Incident Management team. "We\'ve seen some of the growth on the northeast side of the burn area.
"But there\'s not a rushing wall of flame in any direction," she said, adding that aircraft dropped 35,000 gallons (132,490 liters) of fire retardant in the area during the day.
Earlier, authorities said eight people were reported missing, but by the end of the day, the figure was cut to five, as officials continued to try to make contact via relatives and friends.
It was unclear whether those missing were affected by the blaze, or were simply unaccounted for because they could not be contacted.
More than 200 firefighters, 24 fire engines and nine aircraft were fighting the fire and more resources were coming in, said McConnell. Federal emergency management officials issued a Type I, or national priority, fire designation.
Officials hope the sporadic rains continue overnight, giving firefighters a chance to make headway on the flames before higher winds return to the area, forecast from late Thursday.
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has pledged five million dollars in state funds to help fight the blaze.
