A firefighter works a burnout operation on the north flank of the Fontenelle Fire outside Big Piney, Wyoming, on Wednesday, July 4. More than 800 firefighters are working 15-hour shifts battling the fire that has exceeded 56,000 acres, according to fire information services.
(CNN) -- Nicole Frye watered the wooden roof of the house where she'd lived for 18 years. Then she got in her car and captured her own evacuation with a video camera.
All around her, the sky glowed orange from the towering flames that had roared down the mountain and into western subdivisions of Colorado Springs.
"Oh my God," she sobbed. "We gotta get out of here."
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She knew her neighborhood would never be the same.
"So I wanted to make sure I had at least a memory of something that was remaining," she said.
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She wanted a memory, too, of the Waldo Canyon Fire which, a week after igniting, has consumed nearly 350 homes, damaged two dozen more and killed two people.
Firefighters, aided by helicopters, air tankers and military planes dropping water and retardant, fought Saturday to contain the inferno, still threatening 20,000 homes and 160 businesses.
About 120 Colorado National Guard troops were deploying to assist local law enforcement officers, said Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey.
Already, the Waldo Canyon Fire has scorched more than 17,000 acres -- close to 27 square miles -- and brought fear, anxiety and grief to Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city that was, until a few days ago, happily situated in the valley below picturesque Pikes Peak.
It was 45% contained Saturday, said incident commander Rich Harvey.
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Steve Cox, assistant to the Colorado Springs mayor, said the city remains hopeful.
"But it is a long process," he told CNN affiliate KKTV. "It's going to take us a long time to recover from this."
The fire forced the evacuation of more than 36,000 people earlier this week. Many have since been allowed to return, and authorities are no longer keeping track of how many people are still evacuated, said Anne Rys-sikora, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Thousands are still waiting for word when they would be able to go home.
Others, like Frye, will have to stay with friends, family or in hotel rooms. She learned her house was gone. She has not returned yet but seen the devastation in aerial photographs.
The city has organized bus tours for about 4,000 people whose neighborhoods were charred.
"You'll be able to look at your property," Cox said. "You're not going to be able to get out and walk around the property because we're still in an active fire situation."
Barry Boulier was among those evacuated when 65 mph winds on Tuesday whipped the blaze into a firestorm that spewed ash and smoke "like a scene out of the movie 'Dante's Peak.' "
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It was so thick, that he couldn't see or breathe, he said on CNN iReport.
"It happened so fast -- our only thought was leave NOW."
Boulier and his wife have been staying with family since they fled, though they have since learned their home was spared after firefighters stopped its advance in their backyard.
His neighbors, though, are not so lucky. Most of their houses, he said, have been burned.
"I'm kind of dreading returning," he said.
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President Barack Obama declared Colorado a disaster area to allow federal dollars to help fight the Waldo Canyon Fire as well the High Park Fire, which burned 87,284 acres and destroyed nearly 260 homes in northern Colorado since it began on June 9.
As of Saturday evening, that fire is 100% contained and all evacuation orders have been lifted. Firefighters will continue mopping up hotspots along the perimeter of the fire, which has cost more than $38 million to date.
Almost half of the acreage burned by the High Park Fire is on U.S. Forest Service land.
"We have been putting everything we have into trying to deal with what is one of the worst fires we've seen here in Colorado," said Obama, who toured Colorado Springs on Friday to get a first-hand look at the devastation.
"We've still got a lot more work to do."
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The U.S. Forest Service has warned it could be mid-July before the Waldo Canyon Fire is fully under control.
The wildfire is one of 11 active fires in Colorado. Other Western states -- including Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah -- also are battling wildfires, which is straining firefighting resources.
The effort to tame the flames in Colorado got a boost Friday from the military, which is deploying eight of the U.S. Forest Service's Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems aboard C-130 aircraft. The systems will drop retardant on the Waldo Canyon Fire as well as other wildfires still burning in Colorado.
A battalion of U.S. Army troops from Fort Carson, Colorado, also began training Friday to fight wildfires.
More than 500 troops are undergoing three days of training, according to Lt. Col. Steven Wollman, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division headquartered at the base just south of Colorado Springs.
A decision has not been made whether to send the troops into the Waldo Canyon Fire.
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CNN's Greg Morrison and Dana Ford contributed to this report.
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Trees smolder and burn on the north flank of the Fontenelle Fire. The crews are working and sleeping close to the fire in an effort to contain it.
Firefighter Ryan Christian sits with his crew from Alaska before heading out to fight the Fontenelle Fire outside Big Piney. The blaze, burning in dead and thick stands of timber, started on June 24 and is 15% contained.
Firefighter Alex Abols monitors fire on the north flank of the Fontenelle Fire outside Big Piney. Record fire danger and long stretches of the red flag warning days have made it challenging to control.
A utilities worker walks past the skeleton of a vehicle on Monday, July 2, while searching for gas leaks in a Colorado Springs community ravaged by the Waldo Canyon Fire.
An American flag waves Monday in front of a house leveled by the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs. Residents began returnning to the area on Sunday after the fire forced thousands of people from their homes.
The words "We Will Rebuild" are seen written on the sidewalk in front of a house in Colorado Springs that was destroyed by the fire.
Fire-destroyed homes are seen in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in Colorado Springs, where hundreds of residents were given an eight-hour window to visit their properties on Sunday, July 1.
A jogger on Sunday looks out over neighborhoods in Colorado Springs that were evacuated due to the Waldo Canyon Fire. The massive fire has destroyed hundreds of homes and forced more than 32,000 people to flee.
Frank Baker visits the remains of his brother's home in Bellvue, Colorado, on Saturday, June 30. The house was burned to the ground in the High Park Fire.
Homes destroyed by the Waldo Canyon Fire are seen from the air in a Colorado Springs neighborhood on Saturday.
Damaged cars line the curb in front of ruined houses in Colorado Springs.
The line of fire damage is clearly visible in this Colorado Springs neighborhood.
Smoke billows at sunrise from part of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs.
One home stands surrounded by others destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
Homes burned to the ground by the Waldo Canyon fire are seen in a neighborhood in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
The fire, which has burned more than 15,000 acres, began spreading to the southwestern corner of the Air Force Academy in the early morning, causing base officials to evacuate residents.
President Barack Obama tours fire damage with elected officials and firefighters in the Mountain Shadows residential neighborhood in Colorado Springs on Friday.
Firefighters get ready to tackle the Waldo Canyon Fire on Friday.
A house is engulfed in flames as fire crews fight to contain it at the Rose Crest fire in Herriman, Utah, on Friday, June 29. Crews are fighting to contain six separate blazes in the state.
A pig is evacuated in a wheelbarrow from the Ching Family Animal Refuge in Herriman, Utah, as the wildfires worsen on Friday.
Melissa Bowman, a CNN iReporter from Big Piney, Wyoming, captures the Fontenelle Fire close to her home as she waits for an evacuation notice.
A camp for firefighters is set up at Holmes Middle School in Colorado Springs on Thursday, June 28. The Waldo Canyon Fire has scorched more than 16,700 acres.
A partially burned home smolders Thursday in Colorado Springs.
The line where the Waldo Canyon Fire stopped moving east is seen from the air in Colorado Springs. Lower temperatures and lighter winds helped firefighters on Thursday in the battle against the fire.
An aerial view of a destroyed neighborhood in the aftermath of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs.
The Waldo Canyon fire spreads through a neighborhood in the hills above Colorado Springs on June 26. See more photos at 
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 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 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 June 24.
The High Park Fire, which was 45% contained as of June 23, has destroyed 191 homes west of Fort Collins.
The High Park Fire rages through the forest west of Fort Collins, Colorado, on June 19.
Local resident Dwayne Crawford looks out at the High Park Fire from his home west of Fort Collins on 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, June 19.
A helicopter drops water over the Wood Hollow Fire north of Fairview, Utah, on Tuesday, June 26
A wall of fire makes its way down a hillside toward a farm north of Fairview, Utah, on Tuesday, June 26. 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.
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