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Hazy smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire looms behind the Air Force Academy stadium on Wednesday, June 27, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The fire expanded to 15,000 acres. More than 32,000 people have been evacuated. 
Susan Custer, left, and her husband, Gary Custer, watch the Waldo Canyon Fire on Wednesday. 
At dawn on Tuesday, firefighters stir from their tents at a camp near Holmes Middle School. 
Smoke billows from the Waldo Canyon Fire west of Colorado Springs on Tuesday. 
Evacuees drive under a shroud of smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire on Tuesday. 
J'Amie Sirvaitis of Colorado Springs watches the Waldo Canyon Fire after winds pushed the fire into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in Colorado Springs on Tuesday. 
Residents of Colorado Springs watch as the Waldo Canyon Fire burns a home in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood on Tuesday. 
Smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire engulfs Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the blaze burns out of control Tuesday. 
A large plume of smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire fills the sky west of Colorado Springs on Tuesday. 
Jan Stone, right, comforts Angela Morgan as smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire pours over the Mountain Shadows neighborhood of Colorado Springs on Tuesday. 
A portion of the Waldo Canyon Fire moves across a hillside above a subdivision west of Colorado Springs on Tuesday. 
Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Department of Transportation personnel set up a roadblock west of Manitou Springs, Colorado, on Monday, June 25. 
A portion of the Waldo Canyon fire burns out of control in the hills west of Manitou Springs on Monday. 
Trees burn on a ridge above Cedar Heights in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Sunday, June 24. 
Greg and Karen Bodine help her father, Duane Schormann, left, load his animals into a trailer near Colorado Springs as they evacuate the area Sunday. 
The High Park Fire, which was 45% contained as of Saturday, has destroyed 191 homes west of Fort Collins. 
The High Park Fire rages through the forest west of Fort Collins, Colorado, on Tuesday, June 19. 
Local resident Dwayne Crawford looks out at the High Park Fire from his home west of Fort Collins on Tuesday, June 19. 
A heavy air tanker drops fire retardant on the blaze June 19. Its growth potential was "extreme," according to authorities. 
Flames scorched this area outside of Fort Collins where the High Park Fire has burned out. 
A helicopter drops water over the Wood Hollow Fire north of Fairview, Utah, on Tuesday. 
A wall of fire makes its way down a hillside toward a farm north of Fairview, Utah, on Tuesday. The Wood Hollow Fire, one of at least three wildfires burning in Utah, has grown to nearly 39,000 acres. 
Smoldering earth and damage from the Dump Fire, which began June 21, can be seen outside a plant near Saratoga Springs, Utah, on Saturday, June 23. 
Burned-out terrain from the Dump Fire fills a hillside near Saratoga Springs, Utah on Saturday. 
The smoke plume from a fire in the Los Padres National Forest, which began on June 16, billows into the sky. The fire burned more than 500 acres before it was contained. 
Firefighters watch as the wildfire spreads throught the Los Padres National Forest on June 16. Another fire in San Diego County has burned almost 1000 acres leading to 150 homes being evacuated. 
A helicopter makes a water drop on the wildfire in Los Padres National Forest on June 16. 
The Poco Fire from Rim Vista in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona ignited on June 14 and spread to 4,900 acres. 
An airplane drops retardant on the 257 Fire near Superior, Arizona, on June 14. The blaze was about 85% contained at a size of more than 2,800 acres. 
Firefighters battle the Little Bear Fire in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico on June 14. The Little Bear Fire had burned more than 40,000 acres and was still spreading. 
The Little Bear Fire spreads across a road in the Lincoln National Forest on June 13. 
Firefighters in New Mexico struggle on June 14 to contain the Little Bear blaze, which has destroyed more than 250 structures. 
This portion of landscape was charred by the Little Bear Fire in New Mexico on June 14. Are wildfires blazing near you? Share photos and videos with iReport here, but please stay safe. 
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33 Are wildfires blazing near you? Share photos and videos with iReport, but please stay safe.
(CNN) -- Authorities evacuated more neighborhoods Wednesday as firefighters tried to slow a wildfire that roared down foothills and razed residential areas in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Waldo Canyon Fire had engulfed 15,517 acres and was only 5% contained.
Late Tuesday, authorities said evacuations stood at 32,000. That number rose Wednesday to more than 35,000, with additional neighborhoods cleared, said Dave Rose, public information officer for El Paso County.
"We have rehearsed and practiced disasters," said Rose. "We have never seen one like this before."
The weather, again, was an enemy.
"You saw yesterday as bad a fire behavior as you are going to see anywhere, anytime," said Rich Harvey, the fire incident commander, referring to extremely dry, hot and windy conditions. "We expect further trouble from the weather today."
The 1,000 firefighters braced for predicted thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon, which could worsen the situation. The storms bring with them strong winds that can gust unpredictably in any direction.
"That will make work for firefighters more difficult," Harvey said.
Twelve wildfires were raging in Colorado. The Waldo Canyon Fire captured attention because of its proximity to landmarks such as Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy, and also to Colorado Springs, a city of about 400,000 which is the state's second largest.
Colorado wildfires force evacuations 
Evacuee: Wildfire 20 feet from home Winds gusting to 65 mph through mountain canyons blew the wildfire through containment lines into northwest Colorado Springs on Tuesday afternoon. It roared downhill, burning to the ground the Flying W Ranch, a popular Western-style tourist destination.
CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen likened conditions to a double-edged sword. While temperatures were down a bit Wednesday, high-based thunderstorms will be fed by rising air, wind and low humidity, he said.
Such storms produce lightning and rain, but dry air will suck up most of the precipitation before it hits the ground. Lightning can reach the parched soil and possibly ignite additional fires, according to Hennen.
Open Story: iReporters share their harrowing views of the western wildfires
Richard Brown, the Colorado Springs fire chief, described it as a "firestorm of epic proportions."
Gov. John Hickenlooper surveyed the Waldo Canyon Fire, telling reporters it was a difficult sight to see.
"There were people's homes burned to the ground. It was surreal," he said late Tuesday night. "There's no question, it's serious. It's as serious as it gets."
Hickenlooper said officials still have not determined how the fire started.
Authorities had not tallied the number of lost or damaged structures.
President Barack Obama called the governor and Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach. Obama will travel to the area Friday, survey the damage and thank responders battling the blaze, the White House said.
The flames came dangerously close to the U.S. Air Force Academy main campus and an evacuation order was issued for about 700 residents in its Pine Valley Housing and 1,400 in Douglass Valley Housing, said public affairs officer John Van Winkle.
Evacuees watch and hope homes remain 
'Smoke plume was coming toward us' The facility was closed to visitors Wednesday, with only essential personnel asked to report.
Reactions: Monster fire terrorizes a Colorado city
The academy's powered flight, glider and parachuting operations have been called off since Saturday so that the U.S. Forest Service could use runways for helicopters used to fight fires along Colorado's Front Range, Van Winkle said.
The academy's Class of 2016 -- all 1,045 cadets -- is still scheduled to arrive Thursday, but officials are making contingency plans in case they have to report to a different location on the base.
Many Colorado Springs residents waited anxiously to get word of whether their homes had been spared.
Becky Schormann was one.
Her family managed to take some sentimental items with them when they left, but still had to leave behind a boat, a pair of ATVs, a China cabinet and an antique doll collection.
"I keep telling myself: It's going to be OK," she said.
Schormann told CNN that flames came to within 20 feet of their home but were beaten back.
"Our volunteer fire department is just awesome," she said.
The Schormanns are staying in an RV at their daughter's home. The family's two dogs, a pony and a donkey also came along for the ride.
Rose, the county information officer, said one in four callers to the joint information center are offering food for firefighters, shelter for displaced neighbors or to volunteer in some capacity.
"It is a somber resolve," Rose told CNN. "There's no doubt that we have a grim reality that we have lost a number of structures. Our western border mountain vista has dramatically altered."
The 12 fires in the state had consumed 181,426 acres by Wednesday afternoon, according to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management.
The largest of the fires was the High Park Fire, which began June 9 and has now consumed 87,284 acres, the U.S. Forest Service said. It was 65% contained Wednesday. The total number of homes burned stood at 257. An estimated $33.1 million has been spent trying to contain the blaze.
A portion of neighboring Utah was under a red-flag warning, with at least three wildfires burning Wednesday.
Authorities said they found the body of one person after they entered the evacuated areas of the Wood Hollow Fire, about 30 miles south of Provo. The victim had not been identified, according to the Sanpete County Sheriff's Office
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