Two wildfires moving fast due to strong winds erupted in the north Colorado On Thursday afternoon, thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes.
The blaze, which burned north and south of Boulder City, erupted at a speed of 110 mph, sending flames and smoke billowing frantically. During a news conference Thursday evening, officials said the fire had already destroyed 1,600 acres of black and hundreds of homes.
Colorado Governor Jared Police declared a state of emergency, released the disaster emergency fund and provided other evidence to assist in the response. During the evening press conference, the governor thanked the police first responders and shared that the National Guard and federal resources were involved in the firefighting operation and would be coming soon. “This is not a question of fire resources,” he said. “This fire is the power of nature.”
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Belle said during the conference that emergency call lines were flooded throughout the day and evacuation routes were heavily hijacked. “I have never seen anything like it,” he said of the speed and intensity of the fire, which burned the ground’s football fields in mere seconds. “It’s a terrible event.”
Compulsory evacuations were granted Thursday afternoon to 34,000 people living in the cities of Superior and Louisville in Boulder County. Residents of an area of Broomfield were also told to start Getting ready to leave.
“Life-threatening situation in Superior and Louisville areas!” The National Weather Service in Boulder tweeted, warning locals to collect their supplies and leave immediately. “Fast moving fire in the area.”
Videos posted on social media showed apocalyptic scenes. A. In one of the registrations Shopkeeper vacating a CostcoCustomers can be seen swarming into the airy parking lot, which is cloudy with thick smoke. Local news cameras capture and display scenes from a distance Black and gray blooms It moves through the brown hills above the lines of the gridlocked cars, aiming for escape.
Hospitals and shopping centers had to be evacuated as the blaze approached, and the area adjacent to U.S. Highway 36 was closed due to the fire. Several structures have been documented as burning, and initial estimates show more than 570 homes may have been burned, officials said. A targeted shopping center and hotel were also torched. There have been six Was admitted to the hospital According to local sources, an officer was reportedly injured, along with fire-related injuries. Authorities said there were no reports of casualties or disappearances.
The power lines were tilted due to strong winds Inverted the big-rickshaws According to the National Weather Service, in the region, it is expected to continue until the evening. The wind is blowing at a speed of about 80 mph. More than 24,000 people lost electricity During a wind storm, some controls Their garage doors can open When attempting to exit. An exhaust center also had to be replaced after the original location lost power.
This photo was taken by one of our patrol officers in the parking lot of Panda Express in Superior. Near the destination. This area is empty. pic.twitter.com/wJaOY8ccTZ
– Broomfield Police (Broomfield BT) December 30, 2021
Extreme conditions left firefighters with few options to put out the fire. “We can do nothing but make sure people are evacuated,” said Boulder city firefighter Brad Loofer. Denver 7, Local news channel about firefighting. He said about the extreme conditions. “What we are trying to do is evacuate people safely.”
The arid region has been plagued by very low rainfall this year, which has caused the landscape to burn. Between August and December, the Boulder area received only 1.6in of rainfall, well below its average of 6.8in.
“It’s really hard to believe it’s happening in Boulder, CO in late December,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain. Wrote On Twitter. “But only 1 inch of snow has been reported so far this season. Swine, who said he could not understand the words, described hearing explosions as nearby houses and farm buildings caught fire.
Man-made climate change has raised risks and set the stage for an increase in extreme weather events across the West, which has grown hotter and drier over the past 30 years.
“These are the worst conditions I’ve ever seen,” Loafer said, adding that it was the perfect storm. “I can not imagine it could be worse than this.”