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Wildfire Breaks Out Near Royal Gorge, Burns Structures

CANON CITY, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - Firefighters are battling a wildfire near the Royal Gorge that has now burned 3,800 acres and is still growing.

The fire burning on an estimated south of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Arkansas River led to the evacuation of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park near Canon City, the Bureau of Land Management said. At least three structures have burned. It's not clear what the structures were. Park spokeswoman Peggy Gair told The Gazette the evacuations affected several hundred people at the park, which closed Tuesday afternoon.

Evacuations also were in effect from Parkdale to Soda Point, north of the Royal Gorge, the BLM said.

VIDEO: Tuesday Evening Royal Gorge Fire News Conference

The Colorado Territorial Prison was ordered to evacuate shortly before 10 p.m. There are 881 inmates at the facility. Two trained inmate fire crews with 18 supervisors were deployed to help fight the fire.

another view of fire from Royal Gorge Apts 217pm
An image of the fire (credit: coloradolivecams.com)

A DC 10 from Albuquerque has been dropping retardant. Three heavy air tankers have been ordered with one arriving Tuesday evening. A Type 2 incident command team coming in Wednesday morning.

The fire is zero percent contained.

The fire came close to but did not damage the Royal Gorge Bridge.

About 100 firefighters are battling the blaze.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning covering southern Colorado due to hot, dry, windy conditions that were ripe for fast-growing wildfires.

LINK: Canon City Web Cam

Wildfire Resources

- Visit CBSDenver.com's Wildfire Resources section.

- Read recent Wildfire stories.

Wildfire Photo Galleries

- See images from the most destructive wildfires (Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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