The Waldo Canyon fire was a forest fire that started approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 23, 2012, and was declared 100 percent contained on July 10, 2012, after no smoke plumes were visible on a small portion of the containment line on Blodgett Peak. The fire was active in the Pike National Forest and adjoining areas, covering a total of 18,247 acres (29 sq mi; 74 km2). The fire had caused the evacuation of over 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Woodland Park, several small mountain communities along the southwestern side of U.S. Highway 24, and partial evacuation of the United States Air Force Academy. There were 346 homes destroyed by the fire. U.S. Highway 24, a major east–west road, was closed in both directions. The Waldo Canyon Fire resulted in insurance claims totaling more than US $453.7 million. It was the most destructive fire in Colorado state history, as measured by the number of homes destroyed, until the Black Forest Fire surpassed it almost a year later when it consumed 486 homes and damaged 28 others.
The Waldo Canyon fire was first spotted noon on June 23, 2012 in a valley of Rampart Range in the Pike National Forest, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Colorado Springs and north of U.S. Highway 24, the major east-west highway from Colorado Springs. It likely started in the afternoon of June 22, 2012 when a report of the smell of smoke in the area was received by local agencies. Firefighters from the Pike National Forest as well as local agencies responded immediately but were unable to locate the source in very steep terrain before nightfall. The ground search resumed in early morning the following day. The initial smoke column was first spotted and caught on video by cyclists on the range, as the fire began to spread quickly, soon reaching one of the ridges. Air support was requested at 12:24 p.m. by the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Helicopters began dropping water on the fire within hours. Erratic winds caused the fire to spread rapidly in the northwest and south directions. By 3 p.m., the fire grew to 600 acres spreading towards the towns of Chipita Park, Green Mountain Falls, and Cascade, Colorado. It also spread towards the western and northwestern areas of the Colorado Springs area and Manitou Springs. Residents began to evacuate as the fire intensified. Planes dropped retardant slurry on what they believed was the Pyramid Mountain Fire, which was a less than 20 acre fire in the same area the night before. As the fire intensified, flames seemed to reach 150 feet above the treetops.
Numerous fire resources, including multiple ground crews, helicopters, and seventy fire trucks were called in, a staging area for firefighters was established, and the CSFD mobile command unit was activated. The city's emergency operations center was opened. The city also asked fire departments from Stratmoor Hills, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Cimarron Hills and Peterson Air Force Base to fill four city stations. Three more were left empty. Ground crews, including Colorado Springs Utilities' Catamount Wildland Fire Team and multiple other agencies, began to cut a firebreak above Cedar Heights, an effort that would continue in the following days.
US Highway 24 was closed at 31st Street and through Ute Pass on June 24. By that day, eleven thousand people had evacuated their homes and shelters were set up for evacuees in Colorado Springs and Woodland Park. The Norris-Penrose Equestrian Center provided shelter for evacuated horses including those from the Academy Riding Stables in Garden of the Gods, Flying W Ranch, Dreamcatchers Equine Rescue, and Rock Ledge Ranch.
The fire crossed Rampart Range Road on June 25 when a flaming deer leaped across the road. The fire spread quickly into Queens Canyon due to the dry terrain, hot conditions, and steep topography, which made it difficult for fire fighters to manage the fire. Around noon, two C-130 aircraft from the 302d Airlift Wing at nearby Peterson Air Force Base and two from the 153d Airlift Wing in Wyoming were made available for their first air dump of retardant near the Queens Canyon area.
On June 26, 2012, Colorado Springs experienced a record high temperature of 101 °F (38 °C), which aided the fire's rapid expansion through Queen's Canyon and creating significant smoke. The fire crested Queen's Canyon and winds from the west nearing 65 mph gusts (the cyclonic winds of the collapsing pyrocumulus cloud from the fire storm) pushed the fire down the slope and into the Mountain Shadows, Oak Valley Ranch, and Peregrine neighborhoods. The fire moved about 2 miles per hour towards the city. Embers were carried by the wind to a distance of up to a quarter mile away and caused multiple small spot fires of brush and low vegetation. Once the fire crossed into neighborhoods, the fuel for the fire was houses, and the fire spread house-to-house.
By late afternoon and evening, multiple structures were burned including the Flying W Ranch, a Colorado Springs landmark built in 1953. Within the time span of twelve hours, 346 homes in western Colorado Springs had burned to the ground, and hundreds more were reported as damaged by fire and smoke. The fire, though, generally went out where fire-mitigation efforts had been implemented, such as homes in the Cedar Heights area. In 2001, fire mitigation efforts were implemented by the city's fire department and area residents for houses with the highest risk of fire damage.
By June 27, businesses—such as call centers, data centers, and data research centers—and 30,000 or more people had been evacuated. The Colorado Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps tended to animals that were affected by the evacuated, subject to smoke-related symptoms, or anxiety due to the natural flight reflex to get away from the smoke.
A firefighter with the Denver Fire Department and a US Geological Survey (USGS) aerial survey team estimated by photographic topography that 300 or more homes had burned to the ground on June 27. The fire threatened to spread to Crystola and parts of Woodland Park in Teller County.
The specialized Vandenberg Air Force Base Hot Shots team arrived in Colorado Springs and helped limit what could have been significant eastward movement of the fire. Fire fighters were affected by fatigue and injuries. One Company Officer expressed "safety concerns" after he worked a 36-hour shift. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries, and 52 firefighters were sent home due to fatigue. At the height of the fire, 1,500 firefighters stayed at the Holmes Middle School campus. Some days, more than 300 grateful people lined up to welcome them back after their shifts.
The Pikes Peak Community Foundation created The Waldo Canyon Fire Fighter's Fund on June 28 to support the efforts of public and volunteer fire departments in El Paso and Teller Counties. This fund provided financial resources for the fire departments for food, cots, firefighting equipment, or future wildfire mitigation efforts in the Pikes Peak region.
During a two-and-a-half hour visit on June 29, President Barack Obama toured the Mountain Shadows neighborhood, thanked Fire Station 9 firefighters, and visited the American Red Cross evacuation shelter at Southeast YMCA Family Center.
Memorial Health System (MHS) emergency room physicians and nurses treated adults and children with breathing problems from the heavy smoke in the area. University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) and Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora offered donations, supplies and medical staff to assist in treating patients. Volunteers also assisted in the City of Colorado Springs’ emergency command center. William Everett, a 74-year-old Vietnam veteran, and his wife, 73-year-old Barbara, died from "thermal injuries and smoke inhalation" as they were in the process of evacuating their house when the home caught fire.
On Sunday, July 1, firefighters were able to contain 55 percent of the fire, but the city still remained under a red flag warning throughout the day. Most of the 35,000 people displaced by the Waldo Canyon fire were allowed to return to their homes, despite continued risk of fire damage to their homes, theft of their homes' contents, or bears. About 3,000 residents remained under evacuation orders.