Declaring it a "major disaster," U.S. President Barack Obama tours the devastation - left by a raging wildfire in Colorado.
Obama met with firefights, residents and local officials as he surveyed a scorched neighborhood of burned homes, cars and trees in northwest Colorado Springs.
SOUNDBITE U.S. President Barack Obama, saying:
"What's also tragic is that the nature of these fires is that you can have a house that's perfectly fine on one side and then another house that's completely destroyed on the other."
The so-called Waldo Canyon blaze has destroyed 347 homes - and forced the evacuation of about 35,000 people.
At least one death has been blamed on the fire.
By Friday afternoon, lighter winds provided some relief for fire crews battling the blaze that was only 15 percent contained.
Officials said the wildfire is the most destructive fire in Colorado history.
It is one of the more than 40 large wildfires blazing across the western United States.
Sarah Irwin, Reuters
