Waldo Creek fire in Colo. almost contained

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DENVER, July 5 (UPI) -- As Colorado's destructive Waldo Canyon Fire neared containment Thursday, wildfires spread in Wyoming and Utah, authorities said.

Smoke from the Wyoming fires was thick enough that residents of the Denver area were warned for a second day against exerting themselves outdoors, the state Department of Health and the Environment said. Officials advised special care be taken for children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases.

Steve Segin, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service told The Denver Post that a cold front was pushing the smoke south. The 88,000-acre Arapaho Fire, the 9,000-acre Squirrel Creek fire and the 56,000-acre Oil Creek Fire were all burning to the north.

"They're all fairly big fires," Segin said Wednesday. "It's not too far away."

At a news briefing Thursday morning, forest supervisor Jerri Marr said the Waldo Canyon Fire was 90 percent contained, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. Firefighters got a break from rain in the area.

"The weather's been great," Marr said.

The fire near Colorado Springs has destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least two people.