Thousands who fled the raging wildfires in Colorado Springs are being allowed to return to their homes Monday.

Resident C.J. Moore was stunned to find her two-story home reduced to ashes.

"Good Lord! I've never seen anything like this," she said.

Bill Simmons and his wife, Debbie Byes, were more fortunate. Their tri-level, passive-solar stucco home, not far from Moore's, stood undamaged.

"The water and electric's back on. You know, we're good to go," Simmons said by phone. "We're feeling pretty sad for our neighbors and pretty lucky for ourselves."

The Waldo Canyon fire killed two people and burned 17,827 acres.

More than 1,500 firefighters have been battling the blaze that began eight days ago. With 346 homes lost, the fire is the most destructive in Colorado history.

Although the flames are about 55 percent contained, officials warn they're not out of the woods yet.

"We still remain focused on the things that could go wrong," Fire Incident Commander Rich Harvey said. "We still remain focused on the fire that is not contained."