Her family managed to take some sentimental items with them when they left, but still had to leave behind a boat, a pair of ATVs, a china cabinet and an antique doll collection.

"I keep telling myself: It's going to be OK," she said.

Schormann told CNN that flames came to within 20 feet of their home but were beaten back.

"Our volunteer fire department is just awesome," she said.

The Schormanns are staying in an RV at their daughter's home. The family's two dogs, a pony and a donkey also came along for the ride.

The flames came dangerously close to the Air Force Academy's main campus, and an evacuation order was issued for about 700 residents in its Pine Valley Housing and 1,400 in Douglass Valley Housing, said public affairs officer John Van Winkle.

The facility was closed to visitors Wednesday, with only essential personnel asked to report.

The academy's powered flight, glider and parachuting operations have been called off since Saturday so that the U.S. Forest Service could use runways for helicopters used to fight fires along Colorado's Front Range, Van Winkle said.

The academy's Class of 2016 -- all 1,045 cadets -- is still scheduled to arrive Thursday, but officials are making contingency plans in case they have to report to a different location on the base.

Rose, the county information officer, said one in four callers to the joint information center are offering food for firefighters, shelter for displaced neighbors or to volunteer in some capacity.

"It is a somber resolve," Rose told CNN. "There's no doubt that we have a grim reality that we have lost a number of structures. Our western border mountain vista has dramatically altered."

Colorado wildfires had consumed 181,426 acres by Wednesday afternoon, according to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management.

The largest of the fires was the High Park Fire, which began June 9 and has now consumed 87,284 acres, the U.S. Forest Service said. It was 65% contained Wednesday. The total number of homes burned stood at 257. An estimated $33.1 million has been spent trying to contain the blaze.