Colorado Wildfire Expected to be Contained by Thursday, $5.5 million Spent Battling Blaze

The most destructive fire in Colorado state history is being reined in and some evacuation orders are being rescinded, with officials reporting the Black Forest fire 75 percent contained after one week of burning in and around the city of Colorado Springs.

Hundreds of evacuees were able to return home Tuesday morning, local ABC station 7 News reported. But hundreds more were not so fortunate. According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, 502 homes were declared a total loss and an additional 18 homes were damaged, with those numbers expected to further increase.  

Some residential streets were damaged worse than others: On Ravine Drive all 26 homes there were destroyed, whereas the fire claimed only one home on a nearby street, according to local newspaper The Gazette.

"For a lot of you, it's not going home. It's going to rubble," El Paso County Sheriff Terry Mateka said during a Monday news briefing.

Investigators are still searching for the origin of the fire, which they believe is human caused, 7 News reported.

"We are zeroing in on the point of origin," Maketa said. "It's a very slow, methodical process."

Two people perished in the fire, likely as they attempted to escape; their bodies were discovered in the garage of a charred home where the car's doors were still open.

As of Monday, $5.5 million was spent fighting the fire that has burned as many as 15,000 acres of land. Fire crews expect to have the blaze fully under control by Thursday.  

Local law enforcement issued a warning to any would-be looters on evacuated property. Dan May, the 4th Judicial district attorney, said any one found looting would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"We will show looters the same compassion they have shown our friends and neighbors," May said, according to the Gazette.