By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 13:35 EST, 25 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:55 EST, 25 June 2012 . Natural disasters across the U.S. are causing death and destruction as wildfires tear through northern Colorado and a tropical storm is drowning Florida and Alabama. More than 250 homes have been incinerated in Colorado's devastating wildfires - 57 homes in one subdivision on Sunday - which is the highest loss of property in the state's history. The High Park Fire is the . second-largest wildfire and among the most expensive in Colorado's . history, having scorched more than 130 square miles. Scroll down for video . Evacuate: Evacuees head east on Highway 24 towards Manitou Springs, Colorado on Sunday . Destroyed: A firefighter works the scene of a home being consumed by flames in Estes Park, Colorado . Lost: Flames explode near houses in a mountain subdivision, west of Colorado Springs on Sunday as another 57 homes are destroyed . According to The Denver Post, the . fire was just 45 per cent contained on Sunday. With a total of eight . fires burning, Colorado is having its worst wildfire season in a decade. A . fire near Colorado Springs erupted on Saturday and quickly spread to . more than 3 square miles by early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of . more than 11,000 residents and scores more tourists. Also on Saturday, a blaze destroyed . structures near the mountain community of Estes Park, where many . visitors stay while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. Battling: An air tanker dumps flame-retardant on the Waldo Canyon fire, west of Colorado Springs . Remains: Rubble from a home consumed by fire in Estes Park, Colorado, smoldered on Sunday . Desperate battle: Around half of the nation's firefighting contingent is engaged in contain the Colorado fire front . Half the nation's firefighting fleet is now battling fires in Colorado, according to the state's Governor John Hickenlooper. He said C-130 military transport . planes from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs were . assisting fire crews. Some . of the areas most popular tourist sites have been closed to the public, . obscured by smoke and haze. Some travellers were awoken with evacuation . orders. High water: Angela Kelly and her sons Ethan, 3, and Alex, 6, walk through the flooded streets in St Petersburg, Florida . Crashing in: The strong winds caused a tree to fall into Barbara Young's bedroom in Tampa . Stranded: A postal delivery van remains stalled in the flooded streets of St Petersburg, with rising waters threatening to top the wheels and swamp the cabin . 'We're . used to flooding and tornadoes, nothing like this,' said Amanda Rice, . who recently moved to the area from Rock Falls, Illinois. 'It was just this God-awful orange glow. It was surreal. It honestly looked like hell was opening up,' Mrs Rice added. After . spotting flames, Mrs Rice and her husband took their four children and . their pet dog from a Manitou Springs hotel to the evacuation centre late on . Saturday. Families . planning whitewater rafting trips or visits to the stunning red-rock . formations in Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs were instead . spending their vacations passing out bottled water and setting up cots . in evacuee centers. Waterdogged: Residents of the Riviera Bay community of St. Petersburg, Florida, experienced flooding after tropical storm Debby stalled over the Gulf of Mexico and dumped over 10 inches of rain . 'We . were sleeping for 15 minutes when they started knocking on the door - a . day from hell,' said Mark Stein of Morristown, New Jersey. Mr . Stein arrived with his wife and two sons on Sunday for a week of . sightseeing, but have so far only seen the inside of an evacuation centre. But, . instead of being upset, Mr Stein said: 'I think it's the best vacation . ever. This is what the real world is about. There's a lot of people that . need help. Wildfires have also been reported in Utah, California, New Mexico, Montana and Arizona. Destruction: Forecasters believe the storm will move northwards and say it could yet become a hurricane . Water-logged: Sean Kummerow, from Bradenton Beach, walks out to the seawall behind his flooded neighbourhood to inspect damage . Florida and Alabama remain under a . tropical storm alert as Debby continues to bring torrential rain and . high winds to the Gulf of Mexico. There . are fears the slow-moving tropical storm - which has unleashed . tornadoes killing one and ripping apart homes - could become a hurricane . as it batters Florida with rain and kicks up rough surf off the coast . of Alabama. Describing the . storm as 'unpredictable', forecasters discontinued a warning for . Louisiana, saying it was was unlikely to move west, but said they . expected it to move northwards as the week progresses. The storm is moving . slowly, allowing its clouds more time to unload rain. A public advisory . said parts of northern Florida could receive 10 to 15 inches of rain, . with some areas getting as much as 25. Covered up: Florida can barely be seen under Debby in this satellite image released by the NOAA . The . Highlands County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that several . tornadoes moved through the area southeast of Tampa, damaging homes. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Nell Hays . said a woman was found dead in a house in Venus that was destroyed in . the storm. A child found in the same house was taken to the hospital. No . further information was available on the child's condition or either . person's age. Residents in several . counties near the crook of Florida's elbow were urged to leave low-lying . neighborhoods because of the threat of flooding. Authorities . urged residents to leave low-lying neighborhoods in Franklin, Taylor . and Wakulla counties because of flooding. Shelters were open in the . area. Storm: One of the tornadoes that touched down in Highlands County by Delray Plants on Old State Road 8 near Venus . Fierce: High winds, high tide strike at the main street of Cedar Key, Florida, as Tropical Storm Debby makes it's way across the Gulf of Mexico . Debby already . has dumped heavy rain on parts of Florida and spawned some isolated . tornadoes, causing damage to homes and knocking down power lines. High . winds forced the closure of an interstate bridge that spans Tampa Bay . and links St. Petersburg with areas to the southeast. Debby . was essentially stationary about 115 miles (185 km) south-southwest of . Apalachicola, Fla., on Sunday evening. While storm tracks are difficult . to discern days in advance, a forecast map predicted that the storm . would meander north as the week unfolds. Debby's top sustained winds were at about 60 mph (95 kph). [caption .
Homes destroyed and 11,000 evacuated as blaze burns out of control .
Half the nation's firefighting fleet is attempting to contain the fire front .
Parts of Florida may receive 25 INCHES of rain, while Alabama and Louisiana are also affected .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 13:35 EST, 25 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:55 EST, 25 June 2012 . Natural disasters across the U.S. are causing death and destruction as wildfires tear through northern Colorado and a tropical storm is drowning Florida and Alabama. More than 250 homes have been incinerated in Colorado's devastating wildfires - 57 homes in one subdivision on Sunday - which is the highest loss of property in the state's history. The High Park Fire is the . second-largest wildfire and among the most expensive in Colorado's . history, having scorched more than 130 square miles. Scroll down for video . Evacuate: Evacuees head east on Highway 24 towards Manitou Springs, Colorado on Sunday . Destroyed: A firefighter works the scene of a home being consumed by flames in Estes Park, Colorado . Lost: Flames explode near houses in a mountain subdivision, west of Colorado Springs on Sunday as another 57 homes are destroyed . According to The Denver Post, the . fire was just 45 per cent contained on Sunday. With a total of eight . fires burning, Colorado is having its worst wildfire season in a decade. A . fire near Colorado Springs erupted on Saturday and quickly spread to . more than 3 square miles by early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of . more than 11,000 residents and scores more tourists. Also on Saturday, a blaze destroyed . structures near the mountain community of Estes Park, where many . visitors stay while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. Battling: An air tanker dumps flame-retardant on the Waldo Canyon fire, west of Colorado Springs . Remains: Rubble from a home consumed by fire in Estes Park, Colorado, smoldered on Sunday . Desperate battle: Around half of the nation's firefighting contingent is engaged in contain the Colorado fire front . Half the nation's firefighting fleet is now battling fires in Colorado, according to the state's Governor John Hickenlooper. He said C-130 military transport . planes from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs were . assisting fire crews. Some . of the areas most popular tourist sites have been closed to the public, . obscured by smoke and haze. Some travellers were awoken with evacuation . orders. High water: Angela Kelly and her sons Ethan, 3, and Alex, 6, walk through the flooded streets in St Petersburg, Florida . Crashing in: The strong winds caused a tree to fall into Barbara Young's bedroom in Tampa . Stranded: A postal delivery van remains stalled in the flooded streets of St Petersburg, with rising waters threatening to top the wheels and swamp the cabin . 'We're . used to flooding and tornadoes, nothing like this,' said Amanda Rice, . who recently moved to the area from Rock Falls, Illinois. 'It was just this God-awful orange glow. It was surreal. It honestly looked like hell was opening up,' Mrs Rice added. After . spotting flames, Mrs Rice and her husband took their four children and . their pet dog from a Manitou Springs hotel to the evacuation centre late on . Saturday. Families . planning whitewater rafting trips or visits to the stunning red-rock . formations in Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs were instead . spending their vacations passing out bottled water and setting up cots . in evacuee centers. Waterdogged: Residents of the Riviera Bay community of St. Petersburg, Florida, experienced flooding after tropical storm Debby stalled over the Gulf of Mexico and dumped over 10 inches of rain . 'We . were sleeping for 15 minutes when they started knocking on the door - a . day from hell,' said Mark Stein of Morristown, New Jersey. Mr . Stein arrived with his wife and two sons on Sunday for a week of . sightseeing, but have so far only seen the inside of an evacuation centre. But, . instead of being upset, Mr Stein said: 'I think it's the best vacation . ever. This is what the real world is about. There's a lot of people that . need help. Wildfires have also been reported in Utah, California, New Mexico, Montana and Arizona. Destruction: Forecasters believe the storm will move northwards and say it could yet become a hurricane . Water-logged: Sean Kummerow, from Bradenton Beach, walks out to the seawall behind his flooded neighbourhood to inspect damage . Florida and Alabama remain under a . tropical storm alert as Debby continues to bring torrential rain and . high winds to the Gulf of Mexico. There . are fears the slow-moving tropical storm - which has unleashed . tornadoes killing one and ripping apart homes - could become a hurricane . as it batters Florida with rain and kicks up rough surf off the coast . of Alabama. Describing the . storm as 'unpredictable', forecasters discontinued a warning for . Louisiana, saying it was was unlikely to move west, but said they . expected it to move northwards as the week progresses. The storm is moving . slowly, allowing its clouds more time to unload rain. A public advisory . said parts of northern Florida could receive 10 to 15 inches of rain, . with some areas getting as much as 25. Covered up: Florida can barely be seen under Debby in this satellite image released by the NOAA . The . Highlands County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that several . tornadoes moved through the area southeast of Tampa, damaging homes. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Nell Hays . said a woman was found dead in a house in Venus that was destroyed in . the storm. A child found in the same house was taken to the hospital. No . further information was available on the child's condition or either . person's age. Residents in several . counties near the crook of Florida's elbow were urged to leave low-lying . neighborhoods because of the threat of flooding. Authorities . urged residents to leave low-lying neighborhoods in Franklin, Taylor . and Wakulla counties because of flooding. Shelters were open in the . area. Storm: One of the tornadoes that touched down in Highlands County by Delray Plants on Old State Road 8 near Venus . Fierce: High winds, high tide strike at the main street of Cedar Key, Florida, as Tropical Storm Debby makes it's way across the Gulf of Mexico . Debby already . has dumped heavy rain on parts of Florida and spawned some isolated . tornadoes, causing damage to homes and knocking down power lines. High . winds forced the closure of an interstate bridge that spans Tampa Bay . and links St. Petersburg with areas to the southeast. Debby . was essentially stationary about 115 miles (185 km) south-southwest of . Apalachicola, Fla., on Sunday evening. While storm tracks are difficult . to discern days in advance, a forecast map predicted that the storm . would meander north as the week unfolds. Debby's top sustained winds were at about 60 mph (95 kph). [caption .
Sunday as another 57 homes are destroyed . engaged in contain the Colorado fire front . Half the nation's firefighting fleet is now battling rain on parts of Florida and spawned some