Predicted thunderstorms could complicate efforts Wednesday to tame an explosive wildfire that has already chased some 32,000 residents from their homes near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The fire doubled in size overnight and by Wednesday morning, 15,324 acres were burning with only 5% contained, said Rich Harvey, incident commander of the Waldo Canyon Fire.

“You saw yesterday as bad a fire behavior as you are going to see anywhere, anytime,” he said, referring to extremely dry, hot and windy conditions. “We expect further trouble from the weather today.”

Thunderstorms seem like a good thing in the midst of hot, arid conditions, but they bring with them strong winds that can gust in any direction. “That will make work for firefighters more difficult,” Harvey said.

Winds gusting to 65 mph through mountain canyons blew the wildfire through containment lines into northwest Colorado Springs on Tuesday afternoon.

Richard Brown, the Colorado Springs Fire chief, described it as a “firestorm of epic proportions.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper surveyed the Waldo Canyon Fire, telling reporters it was a difficult sight to see.

“There were people’s homes burned to the ground. It was surreal,” he said late Tuesday night. “There’s no question, it’s serious. It’s as serious as it gets.”

Becky Schormann has nervously listened to news reports since Saturday, the day the fire started, prompting her to evacuate the area with her husband.

She hoped her home would be spared.

The family managed to take some sentimental items with them when they left, but still had to leave behind a boat, a pair of ATVs, a China cabinet and an antique doll collection.

“I keep telling myself: It’s going to be okay,” she said.

Schormann told CNN that flames came to within 20 feet of their home but were beaten back.

“Our volunteer fire department is just awesome,” she said.

The Schormanns are staying in an RV at their daughter’s home. The family’s two dogs, a pony and a donkey also came along for the ride.

The flames from the same wildfire also are dangerously close to the U.S. Air Force Academy campus. An evacuation order has been issued for about 700 residents in its Pine Valley Housing and 1,400 in Douglass Valley Housing, said public affairs officer John Van Winkle.

The academy’s powered flight, glider and parachuting operations have been called off since Saturday so that the U.S. Forest Service could use runways for helicopters used to fight fires along Colorado’s Front Range, Van Winkle said.

The academy’s Class of 2016, all 1,045 cadets, will arrive Thursday.

“The fire conditions could not be worse,” said Anne Rys-Sikora, spokeswoman for a multi-agency fire response team. “It is like a convection oven out there.”

Colorado Springs set a record high of 101 on Tuesday as firefighters contended with brutal conditions, including ash falling on highways and neighborhoods. Officials rushed in crews and aerial equipment in a bid to slow the fire.

The forecast stays hot and dry for the foreseeable future, with daytime highs not falling out of the 90s until early next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Dave Barjenbruch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Boulder, said the past week has been hellish across Colorado.

“Even in the foothills, where most of the fires are going on, most days have been in the single-digit humidity,” he said.

Meanwhile, a new fire in Boulder, northwest of Denver, prompted pre-evacuation notices to 2,300 phone numbers.

Six other wildfires were active in the state, according to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management.

The largest of the fires was the High Park Fire, which began June 9 and has now consumed 87,284 acres, the U.S. Forest Service said. It was 65% contained Tuesday. The total number of homes lost rose to 257. An estimated $33.1 million has been spent trying to contain the blaze.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized the use of federal funds to help fight the Waldo Canyon Fire after Colorado Springs and surrounding El Paso County declared an emergency, which allows them to receive state and federal aid.

A large section of neighboring Utah was under a red-flag warning, with at least three wildfires burning Tuesday.

Authorities said they found the body of one person after they entered the evacuated areas of the Wood Hollow Fire, about 30 miles south of Provo. The victim had not been identified, according to the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office

FEMA is providing funds to help fight the Wood Hollow Fire, which has grown to 46,190 acres since starting Saturday afternoon. Containment was 15%.

West of Provo, the Dump Fire stood at 5,007 acres and was 100% contained, officials said.

— CNN’s Phil Gast and Moni Basu contributed to this report