>>> further west, the job of fighting fires has taken a deadly turn as a c-130 air tanker from the north carolina air national guard crashed in south dakota sunday with a crew of six. this latest tragedy adding to the toll as wildfires continued to burn in ten states. nbc's miguel almaguer went into the fire zone today of the waldo canyon fire in colorado springs .
>> reporter: the c-130 is a fire fighting work horse . the plane, similar to this one, with a crew of six, crashed in south dakota . the military cargo plane is specially equipped to douse flames with its 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in just seconds.
>> they don't get much better than that.
>> reporter: among the casualties, lieutenant colonel paul michael , a veteran of iraq and afghanistan. today the fleet of eight is grounded.
>> our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost their lives and to those who are injured.
>> all houses on fire.
>> reporter: this is what firefighters came face to face with -- a fast moving firestorm that swallowed homes and claimed two lives.
>> radiant heat. blocks on fire.
>> reporter: described as an epic firefight, flames shot a hundred feet into the air, a wall of fire barreled down from the hills.
>> everything has gone through this neighborhood through here.
>> reporter: lieutenant smaldino was among the first to arrive.
>> this was like a blow torch coming through here. fire, smoke where you can't see anything through here. and i'll tell you, up until we came up here later, i didn't know how many houses were actually out there.
>> i'm losing my house.
>> reporter: nicole frey, among thousands, forced to flee the flames. many narrowly escaped with their lives.
>> oh, my god.
>> reporter: the community of mountain shadows was hardest hit. some 350 homes here destroyed in a matter of three hours. some residents were allowed to return back home. damon bolling had moved here to retire.
>> there was nothing left -- ashes and trash and not even scrap.
>> reporter: tonight as some begin to rebuild their lives, thanks to firefighters, many of their neighbors still have a home.
>> i want to thank you.
>> you're welcome, sir.
>> i didn't expect that thing to be standing, quite frankly.
>> reporter: with destruction like this scattered across so many neighborhoods, tonight 2,000 people are still evacuated but with this fire 55% contained crews are making progress after that air tanker crash it's feared four are dead tonight. natalie?
>> such a horrific loss. miguel almaguer in colorado springs , thank you.
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48051511/
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