Colorado Springs fire prompts evacuations (VIDEO)

Mandatory evacuations are under way after a wildfire broke out northeast of Colorado Springs on Tuesday, according to ABC News.

CNN reported Colorado residents from some 2,500 homes were told to evacuate but not everyone was leaving, according to El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa.

By Tuesday evening, the sheriff's office estimated some 3,600 people in 1,260, about half the homes, had been vacated.

"We have some folks that were having difficulty," Maketa told CNN. "We are focused on our elderly population that may have difficulty moving, and people trying to move animals out. It has gone from an evac to somewhat of a search and rescue."

The Colorado Springs Fire Department described the fire as "aggressive," reported The Denver Post. The blaze is said to be acres away from the Black Forest Regional Park.

ABC said there was video footage of at least one home going up in flames.

Authorities told everyone living on Shoup Road, north of Fox Chase, east of Holmes Road, west of Tahosa Lane and the entire Cathedral Pines neighborhood that they had to leave, local officials told The Denver Post.  

Authorities are on the scene fighting the flames. Check in with live coverage of the fire here, or watch footage from earlier Tuesday here: 

ABC said the Black Forest blaze is one of three large wildfires currently active in the state, where the National Weather Service has issued a red-flag alert.