Colorado wildfire rages on

A raging wildfire tears through forested mountains north of Denver, Colorado.

Sparked by a lightning strike late last week, it has engulfed scores of buildings, and left at least one person missing.

Fuelled by tinder-dry vegetation and fanned by erratic winds, the so-called High Park Fire has left about 57 square miles of timber and grasslands blackened.

The blaze has forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes, and evacuation orders were not expected to be lifted any time soon.

Although firefighters were battling a total of 17 large wildfires in eight Western U.S. states as of Monday, the Colorado blaze has become one of the nation's highest priority fires - with some 400 ground crew and more than a dozen air tankers and helicopters battling the flames.

Travis Brecher, Reuters