Colorado fire devastation

ABC News

Authorities confirmed the full extent of destruction on Friday, with 347 houses gutted by fire and more than 20,000 homes still threatened by the blaze.

About 35,000 people were evacuated, including cadets from the US Air Force Academy.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey said a body was found in the debris of a burned-out home, marking the first known death from the blaze, with less than 10 people still missing.

Waldo Canyon was among more than 40 large, uncontained wildfires being fought across the United States, the bulk of them in 10 western states - Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and even Hawaii, according to the National Interagency Fire Centre.

The president capped his trip by visiting with evacuees at an emergency shelter operated by the American Red Cross.

One of them, Angi Stoffel, 39, recalled the terrifying moments before she and her family were forced to flee.

"The grass back behind our house has been burned, so I guess we're kind of close," she said.

"That first night was horrible. It was very scary, so we went all the way to Pueblo just to get away and try to get our thoughts together and get a game plan."

The FBI is investigating whether any of the wildfires were started by criminal activity, but the cause remains unknown.

View the story 30-6-2012.