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Multiple wildfires in Colorado have forced tens of thousands of people around the state to flee their homes. The fires have burned near dozens of communities, and three wildland firefighters have lost their lives battling the flames. State officials spent months planning as winter snows failed to arrive. Now their plans are being put to the test. Colorado Public Radio's Molly Cruse reports.
MOLLY CRUSE, BYLINE: In a repurposed barn in Pueblo, Colorado, large fans blow in 100-degree heat. Evacuees from the state's biggest wildfire this year follow colorful signs to blankets, pet food and toiletries. Nine-year-old Isabella Stock picks up a children's book as her mum sorts through piles of donated clothes. Their family of six fled home with only minutes to spare.
ISABELLA STOCK: It's kind of stressful. I'm kind of nervous what's going to happen to our house. And if it's gone, where else could we go?
CRUSE: As families wait to learn what's left of their homes, the fire near here is one of half a dozen testing Colorado's wildfire preparations. Colorado entered the summer coming off a historically dry winter with low snowpack leaving its mountains, forests and grasslands bone-dry. Governor Jared Polis.
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JARED POLIS: This is a marathon, and, you know, it seems like a sprint. We are - appreciate all of our amazing firefighters on the line, but we also know that this is going to be a long and potentially very dangerous fire season.
CRUSE: Polis says the state has been preparing for months, investing $165 million in wildfire prevention and resilience measures, including expanding firefighting resources and adding aircraft to the state's fleet. And the state is spending millions more fighting the fires now.
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POLIS: When there's, you know, dangerous fires in our state that affect life and property, sometimes hundreds of millions, billions of dollars, we always, you know, spend what we need to spend to keep communities safe. So there's never a question of us holding back on the firefighting front. We have emergency funds that cover that
CRUSE: Nearly two weeks into the season's largest fires, the state is getting a lot of federal help and money. Officials here are aware, though, that federal crews are battling 39 large fires nationwide. Late last month, the National Wildfire Preparedness Level notched up to four on a scale of one to five. If it reaches five, federal crews and equipment could start to be rationed. Mike Morgan leads Colorado's Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
MIKE MORGAN: And that's when we really get, you know, worried, is when we have to spread resources across, you know, multiple fires, multiple states, multiple geographical areas. That's when we get really concerned.
CRUSE: Back at the donation center in Pueblo, Ashley Stock said she's trying to reassure her children.
ASHLEY STOCK: It's nerve-wracking just because we don't know what we're going to walk into when the - we're finally able to return home. I'm watching how it's impacting my kids. They're not able to sleep through the night now. So it's just - it's hard to, like, navigate all of everybody's emotions and tell them, like, everything's going to be okay when I don't know what we're going to see in experience.
CRUSE: More heat, gusty winds, and the potential for record-breaking triple-digit temperatures are expected into next week, meaning firefighters aren't likely to get much relief anytime soon. For NPR News, I'm Molly Cruse in Denver.
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