BLACK FOREST, Colo. — Wildfire season erupted in Colorado this week as a series of fast-moving fires spread across the Rockies, forcing thousands of people to flee and burning at least 92 homes to the ground.

Hundreds of firefighters from state and federal agencies scrambled on several fronts Wednesday to beat back the fires, which were being whipped by unseasonably high temperatures and strong winds across the Front Range.

In Black Forest, a small, wooded community just north of Colorado Springs, and the surrounding areas, more than 9,000 people evacuated their homes after a wildfire broke out on Tuesday and roared through 8,500 acres in about 24 hours.

At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff Terry Maketa of El Paso County said that erratic wind conditions had caused the fire to switch directions abruptly, and that it was expected to grow by at least 3,000 acres.

Though the blaze was not known to have caused any deaths or injuries, Sheriff Maketa said he feared for the safety of some residents who had chosen to remain in their homes, despite evacuation orders.

“We’ve had incredible wind shifting,” he said. “The fire has doubled back on properties that we identified as standing that are now engulfed in flames.”