Thousands face anxious return after fleeing wildfires in Colorado

Homes burn as wildfires rip through a development Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, in Superior, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Tens of thousands of Colorado residents driven out by wind-whipped wildfires are anxiously waiting to learn what is left standing of their lives after the flames burned an estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping centre.

At least one first responder and six other people were injured in the blazes that erupted outside Denver on Thursday morning, unusually late in the year, following an extremely dry autumn and amid a winter nearly devoid of snow.