Obama Visits Wildfire-Ravaged Areas

President Barack Obama

has promised federal aid for Colorado after the most destructive wildfire in the state's history killed at least two people, destroyed hundreds of homes and forced more than 35,000 to be evacuated.

The US leader said it was a "major disaster" as he saw for himself the damage caused by the huge blaze that has raged since Tuesday near the base of the Pikes Peak mountaintop. During a three-hour visit to Colorado Springs, he first witnessed the devastation from the air on board Air Force One and then toured neighbourhoods ravaged by the so-called Waldo Canyon Fire. He met firefighters and local officials and visited an emergency shelter operated by the American Red Cross, where he told volunteers "you guys are making us proud". As he walked along a street full of burned-out houses, the president told reporters: "This has been a devastating early fire season for Colorado. This community, obviously, is heartbroken by the loss of homes." Mr Obama announced that federal money would be made available to local agencies and individuals affected by the fire.Speaking at a fire station, he said: "We have been putting everything we have into trying to deal with what is one of the worst fires we've seen here in Colorado." But he added: "We've still got a lot more work to do." The inferno has so far incinerated at least 347 homes. "Our minds just started sifting through all the memories of that house that we lost that can't be replaced," said Colorado Springs resident Rebekah Largent. The city's police chief Peter Carey said a body was found in the debris of one burned-out home. Mr Carey added that authorities were trying to locate up to 10 people who are unaccounted for. The FBI is investigating whether any of the wildfires were started by criminal activity, but the cause remains unknown. Lighter winds have helped more than 1,000 firefighters gain new ground against the inferno, which had roared unchecked this week through communities in the city's northwest and threatened the US Air Force Academy campus. Large, uncontained fires are being fought 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. Colorado Springs is home to the US Olympic training centre and the Air Force Space Command, which operates military satellites. They were not threatened by the wildfire. The cost of fighting the blaze has already reached £1.8m. From above, the destruction is painfully clear. Rows and rows of houses were now just smouldering ashes, while neighbouring homes survived largely intact. On one street, all but three houses had burned to their foundations, said Ryan Schneider, whose home is still standing in a neighbourhood where 51 others were destroyed. "I was real happy at first. My wife was happy," he said. "The emotion of seeing the other homes, though, was instant sadness." The aerial photos showing the scope of one of the worst fires to hit the American West in decades did little to help ease the concerns of many residents who still did not know the fate of homes. Scorching temperatures have been recorded across much of the US recently, and forecasters have predicted a long, dry summer - which could mean more fires.