UPDATE: Colorado Wildfires Kill 3, Properties Damaged

At least three people have been killed in Colorado as wildfires hit thousands of acres of grass.

In the town of Ordway, all 1,200 residents were told to leave as the fires became threatening to lives and property.

As of late Tuesday, firefighters had about 50 percent containment of the blaze, which has damaged more than a dozen buildings.

Among the dead was a pilot who had been flying in a single engine air tanker fighting the fires. The plane went down near Fort Carson.

Authorities are hoping that forecasted rain, and even possibly some snow in Colorado's eastern mountains, will help fight the fires.