Residents receive heater donations in freezing weather

A drastic change in weather delivered a half-foot of snow and frigid temperatures on Saturday, compounding the misery of Colorado residents struggling to emerge from a wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and left three people missing.

At least 6 inches of snow fell overnight onto the still-smouldering remains of homes destroyed in Thursday's wildfire. Xcel Energy, which donated the space heaters, urged residents to use fireplaces and wood stoves to stay warm and keep their pipes at home from freezing. The wildfire broke out unusually late in the year, following an extremely dry fall and amid a winter nearly devoid of snow so far. Scientists say climate change is making weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.