The west is aflame

  Colorado blaze jumps containment lines ...

 

... and doubles in size.

A stubborn and towering wildfire jumped firefighters' perimeter lines in the hills overlooking Colorado Springs, forcing frantic mandatory evacuation notices for more than 32,000 residents, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, and destroying an unknown number of homes.

..."people are freaking out," Kathleen Tillman told the Denver post. "you are driving through smoke. it is completely pitch black, and there is tons of ash dropping on the road."

...Colorado Springs fire chief Richard Brown told the post, "this is a firestorm of epic proportions."- More