8 people who didn’t evacuate Colorado foothills wildfire are unaccounted for, authorities say

8 missing in Colo. fire that has burned 53 homes

BOULDER, Colo. — Authorities in Colorado are searching for eight people who didn’t leave their homes as a wildfire tore through a canyon in the foothills near Boulder.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Rich Brough said Wednesday that 20 people were initially reported missing and 12 have been accounted for.

It’s unclear whether the remaining eight were in some of the 53 homes that have been reported destroyed.

Authorities are following up with family members of the missing people and checking homes in the area.

About 3,500 people have been evacuated from about 1,000 homes since the fire broke out Monday.

Firefighters say mapping now shows the blaze is burning on 6,168 acres, or about 9½ square miles. That’s about a thousand acres smaller than they had thought.

No injuries have been reported. The cause is still under investigation.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Will Esposito describes an otherworldly scene after a wildfire tore through a canyon in the Colorado foothills: Some houses in his neighborhood burning while others stood intact, a propane tank shooting flames into the sky, and an eerie quiet interrupted only by firefighting helicopters and airplanes.

“There was something majestic and beautiful about it, although it’s terrible that some people lost their homes,” Esposito said after he took a clandestine tour on Tuesday.

The 11-square-mile blaze destroyed at least 92 structures — including 53 homes — and damaged eight others by Wednesday. The list of homes lost was based on a survey of only 5 to 10 percent of the burned area.

No injuries have been reported since the fire broke out on Monday. Officials say the cause is still under investigation.

Authorities said about 3,500 people have been evacuated from about 1,000 homes. Esposito said deputies told him to leave at about 4 p.m. Monday, but he stayed behind to watch, finally driving to Boulder at about 9 p.m.

“It was very desolate. Everybody cleared out,” he said. “No one was around at all.”

State troopers blocked roads leading into the evacuation area, letting only firefighters in. Esposito — frustrated by the scant information officials have offered about the destruction — took his mountain bike to a trailhead and rode back in to his neighborhood to see for himself.

“It sends chills through your body a little bit,” he said of the scene.

Esposito saw three homes burning on Monday and three more on Tuesday, but his own was unscathed.

“It was very pocketed. Some areas were severely burned and some were not (burned) at all,” he said.

Esposito, 27, who works as a bartender in Boulder, said he never felt in danger and kept clear lines of escape in view at all times.

“I never felt foolhardy,” he said.

Gov. Bill Ritter, who declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, pleaded with residents to be patient and not try to get back into the area until firefighters tell them it’s safe. Boulder County sheriff’s Cmdr. Rick Brough said that could be two days away.

“It’s important right now for people who have been evacuated to just be patient. This is a very volatile situation,” the governor said after touring the area. His disaster declaration released $5 million to fight the blaze.

Federal fire crews have taken over management of the fire. As many as 200 firefighters from across the state are on the ground battling the blaze with support from 24 fire engines and five airplanes dropping retardant on the fire’s path, said Bill Kight, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.

Six helicopters are also available to fight the wildfire, including three with the capacity to drop 800 gallons of water on the fire per trip.

Firefighters could get some help from the weather. There’s a chance of thunderstorms over the parched area but the storm system could also produce strong winds that could spread the fire.

Crews managed to save the historic town of Gold Hill, including an Old West grocery store and structures once used for stagecoach stops.

Authorities haven’t said whether any fire lines had been established or speak about the prospect of containing the fire.

“There’s no information about anything. … I am so frustrated,” said Ronda Plywaski, who fled her home with her husband and their two German shepherds and spent the night at an evacuation center at the University of Colorado. “I just want to know if my house is OK.”

Authorities were trying to figure out what caused a failure in an alert system designed to automatically call the homes of residents under evacuation orders. Officials said the system successfully sent out eight rounds of calls but failed on two.

Barb Halpin, a Boulder County spokeswoman, said the failures happened later in the afternoon when other areas outside the immediate vicinity of the fire were being alerted.

“It’s unfortunate that those callouts failed,” Halpin said. “We don’t know the reason. Obviously, we’re investigating.”

Halpin said sheriff’s deputies went to the areas where the notifications failed and knocked on people’s doors, urging them to evacuate.

Residents gathered Tuesday at a mountain overlook to watch the yellowish-brown haze. One of them, Kirk Parker, sipped a beer on the tailgate of his Nissan pickup and spotted the roof of his home with binoculars. It wasn’t on fire.

“I think we’re safe,” Parker said.

David Myers thinks his house was destroyed, based on information he’s received from friends. He said while he’s sure he will experience “a varied level of emotions” about losing it, he remembers how he felt when fleeing the wildfire.

“All that really matters to us was my wife and I getting each other, getting the dogs, and getting out of there,” Myers said. “We grabbed a couple of things, but when we look around, and we go, ‘What should I take?’ it all seems pretty irrelevant.”