Raging Colorado Springs wildfire kills two

US police say two people have died in a massive wildfire which is raging in north of the city of Colorado Springs.

Authorities said on Friday that their bodies were recovered from the Black Forest area, where more than 350 homes have been destroyed by the blaze since its onset on June 11.

The victims were caught in the fire as they tried to escape from their home in a thickly wooded area, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said.

“All evidence from the scene is they were planning on departing,” he said. The dead were discovered in the garage of the house.

“The car doors were open as if they were loading or grabbing last-minute things,” Maketa noted.

The inferno, which is described as the most devastating wildfire in the history of Colorado, has forced some 39,000 people to leave their homes.

Meanwhile, another blaze farther west partially damaged what is regarded as the world’s highest suspension bridge on the Arkansas River. The fire also ruined most of the state park around it.

A third fire, caused by lightning, was burning further north in Rocky Mountain National Park that is located in the north-central region of Colorado. However, the National Park Service said that no buildings were threatened.

The Black Forest area is close to Waldo Canyon, where a fire in 2012 burned more than 340 houses and left two people dead.

“I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined we’d be dealing a year later with a very similar circumstance,” Sheriff Maketa added.