Beginning The Waldo Canyon fire was first spotted noon on June 23, 2012 in a valley of
Rampart Range in the
Pike National Forest, about west of
Colorado Springs and north of
U.S. Highway 24, the major east-west highway from Colorado Springs. It likely started in the afternoon of June 22, 2012 when a report of the smell of smoke in the area was received by local agencies. Firefighters from the Pike National Forest as well as local agencies responded immediately but were unable to locate the source in very steep terrain before nightfall. The ground search resumed in early morning the following day. The initial smoke column was first spotted and caught on video by
cyclists on the range, as the fire began to spread quickly, soon reaching one of the ridges. Air support was requested at 12:24 p.m. by the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Helicopters began dropping water on the fire within hours. Erratic winds caused the fire to spread rapidly in the northwest and south directions. By 3 p.m., the fire grew to 600 acres spreading towards the towns of
Chipita Park,
Green Mountain Falls, and
Cascade, Colorado. It also spread towards the western and northwestern areas of the Colorado Springs area and Manitou Springs. Residents began to evacuate as the fire intensified. Planes dropped retardant slurry on what they believed was the Pyramid Mountain Fire, which was a less than 20 acre fire in the same area the night before. As the fire intensified, flames seemed to reach 150 feet above the treetops. Numerous fire resources, including multiple ground crews, helicopters, and seventy fire trucks were called in, a staging area for firefighters was established, and the CSFD mobile command unit was activated. The city's emergency operations center was opened. The city also asked fire departments from Stratmoor Hills, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Cimarron Hills and Peterson Air Force Base to fill four city stations. Three more were left empty. Ground crews, including Colorado Springs Utilities' Catamount Wildland Fire Team and multiple other agencies, began to cut a
firebreak above Cedar Heights, an effort that would continue in the following days.
US Highway 24 was closed at 31st Street and through
Ute Pass on June 24. By that day, eleven thousand people had evacuated their homes and shelters were set up for evacuees in Colorado Springs and
Woodland Park. The
Norris-Penrose Equestrian Center provided shelter for evacuated horses including those from the Academy Riding Stables in
Garden of the Gods,
Flying W Ranch, Dreamcatchers Equine Rescue, and
Rock Ledge Ranch.
Intensification The fire crossed Rampart Range Road on June 25 when a flaming deer leaped across the road. The fire spread quickly into Queens Canyon due to the dry terrain, hot conditions, and steep topography, which made it difficult for fire fighters to manage the fire. Around noon, two C-130 aircraft from the
302d Airlift Wing at nearby
Peterson Air Force Base and two from the
153d Airlift Wing in Wyoming were made available for their first air dump of retardant near the Queens Canyon area. On June 26, 2012, Colorado Springs experienced a record high temperature of , which aided the fire's rapid expansion through Queen's Canyon and creating significant smoke. The fire crested Queen's Canyon and winds from the west nearing 65 mph gusts (the cyclonic winds of the collapsing
pyrocumulus cloud from the fire storm) pushed the fire down the slope and into the Mountain Shadows, Oak Valley Ranch, and Peregrine neighborhoods. The fire moved about 2 miles per hour towards the city. Embers were carried by the wind to a distance of up to a quarter mile away and caused multiple small spot fires of brush and low vegetation. Once the fire crossed into neighborhoods, the fuel for the fire was houses, and the fire spread house-to-house. By late afternoon and evening, multiple structures were burned including the
Flying W Ranch, a Colorado Springs landmark built in 1953. Within the time span of twelve hours, 346 homes in western Colorado Springs had burned to the ground, and hundreds more were reported as damaged by fire and smoke. The fire, though, generally went out where fire-mitigation efforts had been implemented, such as homes in the Cedar Heights area. In 2001, fire mitigation efforts were implemented by the city's fire department and area residents for houses with the highest risk of fire damage. By June 27, businesses—such as call centers, data centers, and data research centers—and 30,000 or more people had been evacuated. The Colorado Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps tended to animals that were affected by the evacuated, subject to smoke-related symptoms, or anxiety due to the natural flight reflex to get away from the smoke. A firefighter with the Denver Fire Department and a US Geological Survey (USGS) aerial survey team estimated by photographic topography that 300 or more homes had burned to the ground on June 27. The fire threatened to spread to Crystola and parts of Woodland Park in Teller County. The specialized
Vandenberg Air Force Base Hot Shots team arrived in Colorado Springs and helped limit what could have been significant eastward movement of the fire. Fire fighters were affected by fatigue and injuries. One Company Officer expressed "safety concerns" after he worked a 36-hour shift. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries, and 52 firefighters were sent home due to fatigue. The Pikes Peak Community Foundation created The Waldo Canyon Fire Fighter's Fund on June 28 to support the efforts of public and volunteer fire departments in El Paso and Teller Counties. This fund provided financial resources for the fire departments for food, cots, firefighting equipment, or future wildfire mitigation efforts in the Pikes Peak region. During a two-and-a-half hour visit on June 29, President
Barack Obama toured the Mountain Shadows neighborhood, thanked Fire Station 9 firefighters, and visited the
American Red Cross evacuation shelter at Southeast YMCA Family Center. Memorial Health System (MHS) emergency room physicians and nurses treated adults and children with breathing problems from the heavy smoke in the area. University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) and
Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora offered donations, supplies and medical staff to assist in treating patients. Volunteers also assisted in the City of Colorado Springs’ emergency command center. William Everett, a 74-year-old Vietnam veteran, and his wife, 73-year-old Barbara, died from "thermal injuries and smoke inhalation" as they were in the process of evacuating their house when the home caught fire. Most of the 35,000 people displaced by the Waldo Canyon fire were allowed to return to their homes, despite continued risk of fire damage to their homes, theft of their homes' contents, or bears. About 3,000 residents remained under evacuation orders. Mandatory evacuations in some areas of Northwestern Colorado Springs were expected to be lifted by evening. More than $85,000 was raised at the televised "A Community Rises" benefit concert was held July 4 at the
Colorado Springs World Arena from attendees, the World Arena, and
Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Online donations through Pikes Peak United Way increased the total to $288,807.00. Other grants, including $125,000 from
El Pomar Foundation, brought the final number to well over $500,000. The benefit was organized by the Philharmonic, World Arena,
Colorado Springs Independent,
Focus on the Family, Pikes Peak United Way and other media.
Containment As of Thursday, July 5, the fire was at 90 percent containment, with 776 personnel working the fire (fewer people than the day before). Thirty-seven homes that were evacuated were by now reported to have been burglarized, and authorities were offering up to $50,000 for information on the culprits. In addition, 28 vehicles, many packed with evacuee's belongings, also were broken into after residents fled the fire.
The National Guard was summoned to secure and help protect properties within the evacuated areas. On July 10, 2012, the fire was 100 percent contained.
Damage The Waldo Canyon Fire left two people dead, destroyed some 346 homes and burned in the
Pike National Forest and in Colorado Springs. Of the total acres burned in the fire, were National Forest land, were private land, and were Department of Defense land. These lands spanned five major
watersheds within the Pike National Forest, including those of Headwater
Fountain Creek, Cascade Creek-Fountain Creek,
Garden of the Gods,
West Monument Creek, and Lower Monument Creek. The fire spread through
Ute Pass, parts of
Teller County, and came within of Woodland Park's city limit. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment team say that were burned so severely that the vegetation and roots below a depth of about four inches were gone. The team said that the landscape looked like that of the moon. The team was concerned that increased flooding in the area of the fire scar could lead to mudslides along roads and into neighborhoods. "What ends up happening is big boulders, trees, all these burnt trees can fall over, get in these drainages, move downhill very quickly and then cause debris dams and then cause roads to fail and perhaps failures onto Highway 24 or into neighborhoods... this will continue to impact this area absolutely for at least 10 years. Those who live near the burn area need to stay alert and be prepared." El Paso County published a "Relief and Recovery Assistance Guide" to connect residents with disaster assistance and information.
Investigation The United States Forest Service was responsible for the investigation, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also became involved to determine the cause of the fire. The origin of the fire was located on July 5, 2012, and as of June 2014, the cause was determined to be caused by a human, but the true nature of the cause remains unknown. ==Erosion and flood control remediation==