Race to flee the wildest wildfire

The late afternoon sun struggles to penetrate the intense cloud of smoke and ash - which is visible from outer space - as families flee the biggest wildfire in history in the US state of Colorado.

Smoke from the blaze, named the Hayman fire after the spot where it is believed to have started last Saturday as a result of an illegal camp fire, rose to 20,000 feet. The fire now covers more than 135 square miles between Denver and Colorado Springs, has destroyed 21 homes and is threatening a further 2,500 across four counties. Up to 40,000 people have been told they face evacuation.

About 450 firefighters in a £14 million operation have battled to keep the blaze from state capital Denver. Governor Bill Owens said: "The fire itself is not going to threaten Denver but the smoke sure is."

Joe Allbaugh, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said: "This is the worst fire I've ever seen in my life. If astronauts are watching it from the space shuttle, you've got to know it's huge."

The American Red Cross has set up shelters and the Salvation Army is asking for volunteers and donations of energy bars and gloves suitable for rugged work. The Douglas County sheriff asked for donations of hay for horses from fire-threatened areas transported to county fairgrounds for safety.

Householders told they must leave their homes have the heartbreaking task of deciding what to take with them. "I grabbed legal papers, my family photos, some clothes, three cats and a dog and got out," said Lorrie Ciceri, of Pine, Colorado. She was staying at a shelter, waiting to know whether her mountain home survived.

The fire, fuelled by high winds, is veering away from Denver but towards new terrain full of dry and diseased trees. Colorado is in the grip of a severe drought which is affecting much of the American West. The period from last December to May was the driest for 107 years.

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