Wildfires erupted near Boulder Colorado due to hurricane-force winds. They destroyed hundreds of homes and overwhelmed firefighters, forcing them out of their towns.
On Thursday more than 500 houses were in flames, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said at a press conference. Pelle warned that there may be casualties.
Jared Polis of Colorado, the Governor, was born in Boulder. He declared an emergency after thousands of people abandoned Superior and Louisville. This jammed roads and caused traffic problems. Boulder County residents were also advised that they might need to evacuate.
“We saw a line of flames at least a mile long” as we evacuated, Carmen Porter, who lives in Boulder near Louisville, said in a telephone interview. “Houses in the subdivision to the south, across the road from us, burned for sure.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]
Wind gusts blowing from the Rocky Mountains reached 110 miles (177 km) per hour. accordingThe National Weather Service. “If you are in Louisville, this is a life threatening situation. Leave Now!,” the weather service saidFollow us on Twitter.
As of Friday, 5:05 p.m. the Marshall fire had already burned 1,600 acres, according to Denver Gazette.
Radar imagesAccording to Power outage.us which monitors utility outages, the meteor service revealed a plume smoke that extended for over 70 miles.
“We are literally watching it burn,” said Superior Mayor Clint Folsom, quoted by the Denver Post. “This is devastating for our people.”
Boulder County Disaster Services opened an evacuation center, with a horse and other large animal shelter. On Friday, the weather service forecasts heavy snow.
Patients at Centura-Avista Adventist Hospital in Superior were “safely evacuated” to other facilities, hospital operator Centura said in a statement.
—Stephen Stapczynski provided assistance
