Colorado Springs News, Sports & Business

FIRE STATS: • 85% contained • 2 deaths • Acres burned: 14,280 • Homes lost: 509 • Homes with partial damage: 28 • Cost: $7M
UPDATED MAP: Evacuation map • Updates • Addresses of homes lost • How you can help, get help • Photos

Firefighter Brandie Smith from Salida, Colo., walks past a burned out structure on the Black Forest wildfire north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday, June 17, 2013. Over 470 homes burned in the wildfire that started last Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Black Forest residents return to homes amid destruction

News Updated: 7 hr ago

Two groups of people streamed into the Black Forest fire burn scar on Tuesday - those who still had homes and those who didn't. Susan O'Neill waited in line at 10:45 a.m. to see her house off Vollmer Road. It was a "bittersweet" wait. "I feel guilty," O'Neill said. "You feel a little blessed...

MAP: Destroyed homes in Black Forest

News: Local News Updated: 15 hr ago

The Gazette has been double-checking the list of properties sent out by the county and has discovered a few discrepancies. In most case properties are double-listed as being destroyed, or double-listed having survived the blaze.

Eight new events added to Rocky Mountain State Games in Colorado Springs area in a month

Sports Updated: 8 hr ago

Cyclists finally get their version of the Hill Climb, arm wrestlers can compare biceps with others from around the state and, for the first time, even dogs can join in the competition. The Rocky Mountain State Games are a month away, and organizers want everyone to know there are numerous...

Sen. John Morse (Dem.) of Colorado Springs addresses the senate during the opening day of the Colorado State Legislature was on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. Morse is the majority leader of the senate. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)

Colorado officials verify signatures for recall election targeting Sen. John Morse

News: Local News Updated: 12 hr ago

DENVER - More than enough signatures - 10,137 - were deemed valid to put Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, on a ballot for recall in the coming months. Morse, who led the Senate last session as president, will likely challenge the validity of those signatures in an effort to get the number...

SIDE STREETS: Eavesdropping while heroes worked

News Updated: 16 hr ago

Last week, many of you no doubt watched on TV and read the newspaper in horror as wildfires raged around the Pikes Peak region. I wasn't watching much TV. I spent most of my days eavesdropping on heroes. Specifically I was listening to police scanners, following the sometimes intense,...

Inmates return to prison evacuated by wildfire

News Published: Tue, Jun 18, 2013

CANON CITY, Colo. (AP) — Inmates who were transferred from a prison in Canon City due to the wildfire near the Royal Gorge Bridge are heading back. The Colorado Department of Corrections says it started moving inmates back to the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility on Tuesday. It...

Officials: Unattended campfire caused Calif. fire

News: U.S. & World Updated: 7 hr ago

MARIPOSA, Calif. (AP) — An unattended campfire near a main route into Yosemite National Park grew into a blaze that led to the evacuations of 1,500 people from 800 homes, but nearly half were allowed to return as firefighters gained ground late Tuesday. California Department of Forestry and...