More firefighters will be dispatched to battle a massive wildfire in Colorado that has damaged or destroyed at least 100 structures and killed at least one resident.

Authorities late Monday confirmed that firefighters discovered the body of a 62-year-old woman in the ashes of her home in Larimer County, located more than 160 kilometers northwest of the capital of Denver. They say two phone messages urging Linda Steadman to evacuate were received by her telephone answering system. Her family issued a statement saying “she perished in the cabin she loved.”

Another 200 firefighters on Tuesday will join the 400 who have been fighting the blaze, which has consumed over 16,000 hectares and forced hundreds of people from their homes since it was sparked last Saturday by a lightning strike, making it the third-biggest wildfire in Colorado's history. More than a dozen aircraft, including five heavy air tankers and five single-engine air tankers, have been deployed to assist in the containing the blaze.

In the nearby state of New Mexico, firefighters are battling a wildfire that has consumed over 14,000 hectares and destroyed 35 structures since it, too, was sparked by lightning more than a week ago.