Colorado wildfire destroys structures, triggers evacuations; no injuries reported

Colo fire destroys buildings; no injuries reported

DENVER — A wind-driven wildfire broke out in the rugged Colorado foothills and quickly spread across 3 1/2 square miles Monday, destroying some structures and triggering evacuations of about 200 homes.

No injuries were reported.

The fire started in Four Mile Canyon northwest of Boulder, and erratic winds gusting to 45 mph spread the flames both to the west and northeast.

At least four roads in the area were closed, and a plume of heavy smoke was visible for miles. The cause was unknown.

“It’s fast-moving. We’ve got a lot of wind up there,” Boulder County sheriff’s Cmdr. Rick Brough said. He said emergency crews were concentrating on evacuations.

Homes and cabins are scattered throughout the area, some in old mining communities and others on isolated lots. Authorities said about 100 buildings were threatened, but they didn’t know how many or what type of structures were destroyed.

Authorities warned residents of two subdivisions in the foothills closer to Boulder that they could be told to leave. It wasn’t immediately known how many houses might be involved.

One fire vehicle was destroyed, said Patrick von Keyserling, a spokesman for the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management.

At least two heavy air tankers were sent to the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport southeast of Boulder to help, but the winds were too strong for them to fly over the fire.

“They just can’t get up until the wind dies down,” Brough said.

The strong winds accompanied a cold front moving across the state. They weren’t expected to slacken until Monday night, said Scott Entrekin, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Steve Segin of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordinating Center, which manages firefighting equipment and crews, said three hotshot ground crews were dispatched to the blaze.

“It was tremendously dark about an hour ago,” said Marilyn Cole, who was working at the Country Corner Store in Hygiene, about 10 miles northeast of the fire. “It’s very, extremely hazy.”

Three evacuation centers were set up in Boulder and in the mountain village of Nederland, and at least 65 people had checked in at the three centers by mid-afternoon.

A shelter for livestock was set up at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont.