Wind-driven wildfires near Denver burned an estimated 580 homes, a hotel, a shopping center, forcing tens of thousands of people to be evacuated. As many as 105 mph winds swept across the region, causing winds gusting to 169 kph and causing at least seven injuries to responders. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle acknowledged that more injuries or deaths are possible due to the intensity of the fires that quickly swept across the region. Sheriff Pelle said the first blaze began just before 10:30 a.m. and had been dealt with and laid down by the end of the day, with no structures damaged.
Residents scrambled to leave smoky, orange skies engulfing parts of the area as the fire covers 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers). There is no certainty when crews will begin assessing the damage and searching for victims of the unusually late fires, which are burning into the winter season. It will depend on what happens to the winds overnight. Louisville, with 21,000 residents, and Superior, with 13,000 residents, have been ordered to evacuate.
Approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver are these neighboring towns, which are full of middle-class and upper-middle-class subdivisions nearby shopping centers, parks, and schools. Boulder is a foothills college town nestled between Denver and boulder. As people attempted to exit, the streets in suburban subdivisions clogged up as residents evacuated in an orderly manner. Sometimes, it took cars up to 45 minutes to advance half a mile (less than a kilometer).
Wind gusts caused small fires to jump and spread in unexpected spots – on the grass in a median, in the middle of a parking lot, and in a dumpster. As emergency sirens blared nearby, the skies changed from clear to smoky due to shifting winds. Some of the blazes that erupted throughout the area on Thursday were caused by downed power lines. UC Health Broomfield Hospital is treating six people injured in the fire, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said. A nearby portion of U.S. Highway 36 also was shut down.
This winter has continued to be mostly dry along Colorado’s Front Range, where most of the state’s population lives. On Dec. 10, Denver set a record for most consecutive days without snow. Although the snow was expected In the region by Friday, it hasn’t fallen. One video, filmed by a bystander outside a Costco store in Superior, shows winds whipping through barren trees in the parking lot. The scene is surrounded by gray skies, hazy sun, and a few small fires scattered about.
Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of emergency following the fires, which gave the state access to disaster emergency funds. As a result of climate change, scientists predict weather extremes and wildfires will become more frequent and destructive. Wildfires in the US West have been harder to contain because of a historic drought and heatwave. There hasn’t been significant rainfall in Boulder County since mid-summer, affecting 90% of the county. Nonetheless, the lack of precipitation – snow or rain – this late in the season is highly unusual. According to the National Weather Service, Boulder could receive up to a foot of snow tomorrow, and the snow would provide relief to residents.
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