Colorado Springs , Colorado ( CNN ) -- U.S. Army Capt . Immanuel Mgana was half a world away from his home and his family in Colorado Springs on June 26 , when he received a text message from his wife : It was an image of a house on fire with the words , `` This is our home . '' `` I could identify the house because of my car , which was in the driveway , '' he said . Both Mgana and his wife , Melissa , had been following the news of the Waldo Canyon Fire , which had started three days earlier , but neither was aware of their home 's fate until they saw that photo , which had been splashed across the front page of the Denver Post . From his post in the Horn of Africa , Mgana was n't even aware that his family 's home was in danger of being consumed by the wildfire . Just hours before sending that text , Melissa Mgana had scrambled the couple 's three kids into a car and rushed to a friend 's house , abandoning plans to celebrate their son Kael 's 10th birthday . `` We had picked up the cake . We were just preparing for a birthday evening , '' she said . Amid the last-minute birthday preparations , Melissa continually checked local news reports about the progress of the massive fire as it bore down on Colorado Springs . At that time , the blaze had forced the evacuation of 11,000 people ( that number would later triple ) , threatening 13,000 homes , and none of the fire had been contained . `` I was watching the news and I would run outside and look at the plume , '' she said . As the sky grew darker and more ominous , Melissa knew time was running out . `` When I looked up and saw the flames coming over the ridge is when I knew it was possibly very serious , '' she said . `` I just said , 'We need to get out of here . ' '' iReporters share their harrowing views of the wildfires . She knew she made the right decision hours later , when she saw the Denver Post 's front page . She immediately sent the image to her husband , who showed the photo to his superiors . `` The first thing they said was 'You need to go home , ' `` he said . `` I was on the next flight out . '' As he boarded a flight home , Immanuel Mgana stayed in touch with his wife , keeping tabs on the situation without telling her that he was homeward bound . A day later , he arrived at the home where his wife and three children were staying . `` I knocked on the door and I believe my daughter Grace opened the door first and she just stepped back for a moment , '' he said . `` She did n't know how to react , but after a few seconds she was just all over me . '' The emotional pendulum swung from the despair to `` elation , '' Melissa said . `` There was a ring at the door bell and there he was , '' she said , still beaming at the memory . `` I felt so relieved . It was amazing . '' `` This was n't something my wife could do alone , '' Immanuel said . `` I definitely needed to be there for support . Also , the kids , they needed a father figure around . '' The Waldo Canyon fire charred more than 18,000 acres and destroyed 346 homes , making it the most destructive in the state 's history . At the height of the fire , 32,000 Colorado residents evacuated their homes . The cause of the fire is still under investigation . Are wildfires getting wilder ? The Mganas have made a temporary home at a local hotel , where they spent the Fourth of July holiday . The couple 's three children -- Kael , 10 , Sofia , 5 , and Grace , 2 -- splash around in the hotel pool while Melissa and Immanuel talk about their hope for the family 's future . `` We just feel compelled to rebuild there , '' Melissa said of the lot where their home once stood . `` After 15 years of being together , we 've weathered a lot of storms together and we just know how to get through things together , '' Immanuel said , putting his arm around his wife . `` It 's a new beginning for us . '' Wildfire victims face double tragedy .
Capt . Immanuel Mgana returned to Sofia from his station in the Waldo Canyon Fire . His home was destroyed by the Waldo Canyon Fire . He and his wife learned about their home 's fate from a U.S. Army Capt photo . His wife and 32,000 children had evacuated Just hours earlier .