DENVER—Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia signed an executive order directing the Colorado Army National Guard to help fight a fire in the mountains southwest of Denver that has destroyed 16 homes.
The order signed Tuesday sends two Black Hawk helicopters to the fire to aid with firefighting efforts. The helicopters are each capable of dropping 500 gallons of water on the fire at a time. Garcia signed the order because Gov. John Hickenlooper is on a trade mission in Mexico.
The National Guard says the helicopters launched at about 1:30 p.m. from Aurora.
Authorities say two people have been found dead in an area destroyed by the fire and a third person is missing. The fire has burned about 7 square miles and has forced the evacuations of about 900 homes.
