BLACK FOREST — Thousands of homes have been evacuated and 40 to 60 damaged or destroyed as an aggressive wildfire continues to burn in El Paso County Tuesday evening.

The Black Forest fire began near Shoup Road and Highway 83. It was first reported about 1 p.m.

As of Tuesday evening, a cause for the fire had not been determined, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said at news briefing.

The fire has grown to an estimated 7,500 to 8,000 acres, Maketa said. He estimated that 40 to 60 homes were damaged or destroyed Tuesday.

Officials fear that number will continue to grow. As of Tuesday night there was zero containment.

Reverse emergency notifications ordering residents to evacuate were sent to 2,530 registered phone numbers and 383 voluntary evacuation notifications were sent, Maketa said.

Officials repeatedly expanded the evacuation area after the fire was first reported.

Reverse emergency notifications ordering residents to evacuate were sent to all homes in the Cathedral Pines neighborhood around 3:30 p.m. Officials also ordered evacuations for homes south of Shoup Road, north of Fox Chase, east of Holmes Road and west of Tahosa Lane.

At 5:43 p.m. the evacuation boundaries were expanded to include areas south of Hodgen, north of Shoup Road, west of Vollmer and east of Peregrine Way. The evacuation area does not include Forest Heights Ranch.

At 6:30 p.m., officials expanded the evacuation area for a second time to include the areas north of Burgess Road, south of Hodgen, west of Meridian and east of Peregrine Way.

Maketa said that some residents who opted not to evacuate were now struggling to flee the fire zone, forcing efforts on Tuesday to shift from an evacuation to a rescue mission.

“Law enforcement is scrambling to get folks out of there and do searches,” Maketa said.

At about 4:40 p.m. there was a giant plume of smoke. Police cars and a water tanker raced toward the new disturbance. Thick black smoke spread over the sky, alternating with dense white smoke. Ambulances sped up the road. By 6 p.m. air support was overhead, but the smoke continued.

Mark Cuppeak lives about a mile east of where the fire started. He said Tuesday he had spent money on fire mitigation and defensible space around the home he’s occupied since 1995. He was still worried.

“We’re not out of harm’s way until all the smoke is gone,” he noted.

He said his animals and wife were safe. “All that is left to be destroyed is property.”

The Colorado Springs Fire Department called the fire “aggressive” and said it was moving quickly. The department sent resources to the scene and the Colorado Springs Police Department is also assisting.

Humidity levels in Denver hung at about 4 percent Tuesday afternoon. In Colorado Springs, the humidity level was only 3 percent at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Temperatures broke records.

“The weather is not working with us, but our guys are giving it a heck of a shot,” Maketa said.

There are between 300 and 400 firefighters currently fighting the fire and officials are working to divert additional crews from other fires around the state.

“The challenge we are facing is a lack of manpower,” Maketa said.

Teams from Fort Carson’s Directorate of Emergency Services will provide air support. Two Chinook helicopters are dropping water on the fire. A third helicopter is also assisting ground crews.

Maketa said federal firefighting crews would take command Wednesday.

Several roads are closed near the evacuation area. Colorado Highway 83 is closed from Shoup Road to Hodgen, and Hodgen is closed from Highway 83 to Black Forest.

The Red Cross has set up a shelter at Palmer Ridge High School, located at 19255 Monument Road in Monument. A second shelter has been established in Colorado Springs at New Life Church, located at 11025 Voyager Parkway.

Large animals can be taken to the Norris Penrose Equestrian Center, located at 1045 Lower Golden Camp Road in Colorado Springs. A second large animal shelter has been established at the Elbert County Fairgrounds located at 95 Ute Ave in Kiowa.

Cindy Antil was evacuated from her home in Abert Estates, at the bottom of Shoup Road. Officials were escorting one person from her family back to the house to get some essentials.

“We know people up there — we’re just hoping everyone is going to be OK,” Antil said. “It’s been very dry here. We figured it was just a matter of time.”