Firefighters made progress Saturday against California's largest wildfire of the year ahead of expected thunderstorms that could unleash fire-starting lightning and erratic winds.

Officials call it a miracle that there've been no reports of deaths in the blazes, which destroyed at least 500 homes — and perhaps twice that number. In some cases families had just minutes to flee.

The Colorado wildfires follow an unusually dry fall and winter in the state. Officials suspect the blaze was caused by downed power lines.

Thousands of residents in three communities near Denver were ordered to evacuate Thursday as wind-fueled wildfires engulfed parts of the area, scorching hundreds of homes and buildings.

Homeowners are rebuilding after wildfires, but many won't be required by governments to use fire-resistant materials. Without such improvements, communities face harm again with the next fire.

Many homeowners who lost everything in a wildfire had no idea they were at risk. Only two states require disclosing wildfire risk to buyers in the house hunting process.

Two back-to-back wildfires have erupted around Los Angeles. And across the country, major wildfires are burning in a dozen states, including one of the largest in Colorado's history.