OnsceneALERT
Dec 31, 20214 min
Updated: Jun 13, 2023
CRITICAL INCIDENT NOTIFICATION
MAJOR FIRE
BOULDER, Colo. – A ferocious wind-driven wildfire on Thursday destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses near Boulder and Denver, Colorado, forcing tens of thousands to flee and blanketing the area in smoke.
The high winds that fanned fires in the area continued into Thursday night as the Boulder suburbs of Superior and Louisville remained under evacuation orders. Firefighters were forced to withdraw in many areas as one large wildfire raged on, and another remained under control.
On Thursday night, hundreds of people watched from a ridge top as orange flames tore through the Rock Creek neighborhood of Superior, and numerous other fires dotted the horizon.
Firefighting conditions were expected to improve overnight as winds decrease. The National Weather Service said a high wind warning was extended through 8 p.m. but winds were expected to lessen overnight. Snow that's expected Friday could also help douse the blaze, a National Weather Service meteorologist told USA TODAY.
About 600 homes, a Target shopping complex and a hotel have been destroyed by fire in the area, according to Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle. One fire had burned over 1,600 acres in a suburban area as of Thursday evening, Pelle said at a press conference.
There have been no reports of missing people or fatalities yet. But Pelle said he would not be surprised if there were injuries or fatalities resulting from the fires.
Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon to allow the state to access emergency funds and services.
"This area, for those who don't know this area of Boulder County, is right in and around suburban sub-developments, stores — It's like the neighborhood that you live in," Polis said at the press conference. "1,600 acres near a population center can be, and is in this case, absolutely devastating."
On Thursday afternoon, a cloud of dark gray smoke could be seen blowing over the town of Superior, located about 20 miles northwest of Denver.
The entire town, which has about 13,000 residents, was ordered to evacuate. About 210 homes were lost in the Old Town area of Superior.
The city of Louisville, Colorado, with some 20,000 residents, was also ordered to evacuate. All 370 homes in the Sagamore subdivision of Louisville also burned, Pelle said.
Six people were hospitalized with burns at UCHealth Broomfield Hospital, spokeswoman Kelli Christensen told USA TODAY. She could not elaborate on their conditions or the severity of burns due to HIPAA, a healthcare privacy law, but said all six were being treated currently.
Centura-Avista Adventist Hospital, just northwest of Broomfield, evacuated its patients and employees as the flames grew closer. The hospital was fully evacuated by 4:15 p.m. and sent patients to two sister hospitals. Before the hospital was evacuated, videos posted to social media showed flames just across the street with homes on fire. One video showed hospital workers in a field outside the hospital with a hose nearby that had been used to wet the grass.
"Patients should not attempt to go to Avista Adventist Hospital; nearby roads have been closed. Patients should go to the nearest hospital to receive services or call 9-1-1 if it is emergency," said Lindsay Radford, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
As of 5 p.m., the fire was hopscotching through several neighborhoods in Superior, setting ablaze some houses and leaving others untouched. Almost all that burned were completely unchecked, firefighters powerless to stop the flames being driven by the howling wind.
Pat Kilbride, who has lived in the Old Town area of Superior for 30 years said his house burned down, killing his dog and cat. He said he believed many other homes were also destroyed.
Kilbride rushed toward his house when he heard the fire was approaching the area, but couldn’t get close because of road closures. By the time he arrived on foot, it was already engulfed.
“It’s all gone. The whole Old Town,” he said. “I’m going to head back to my truck and feel sorry for myself.”
Strong winds were helping fuel the blaze with gusts as strong as 115 mph measured earlier in the day just south of Boulder, Bruno Rodriguez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told USA TODAY. Constant winds were being measured around 40 mph with higher gusts throughout the region.
Officials suspected some of the fires may have been sparked by downed power lines.
Rodriguez said the winds were unlike anything they've seen this season. Coupled with six to seven months of incredibly dry conditions, he said, it was "the worst, most terrible combination that just allowed a fast-moving fire like this."
The region only saw about 1.6 inches of rain since August, which was "well below normal," Rodriguez said.
As firefighters continued to battle the raging fire, the area was also placed under a winter storm warning with several inches of snow forecast overnight and into Friday. The wet snow should help douse the blaze, along with winds forecasted to slow into the evening.
"We're going to thankfully see rapidly changing weather conditions," Rodriguez said. "We've been waiting for this snow for a while, and it couldn't have come at a better time."
Source Agency (USA Today)
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OnSceneALERT
"Disasters Don't Give Warnings, But We Do"
Incident Number
2-211230-6401
Alert Type
Critical Incident Notification
Incident Type
Major Fire
Incident Occurred
December 30, 2021
Alert Posted
December 30, 2021
Location
Boulder, CO
END OF ALERT