A large wind-driven fire moving through eastern Boulder County has damaged or destroyed almost 600 homes and burned about 1,600 acres, as tens of thousands in Superior, Louisville and now Broomfield are being evacuated.
The Marshall Fire, fueled by high winds and dry conditions, continued to burn Thursday night and will likely be the state’s most destructive in terms of property damage by the time all is said and done.
The fire started near Marshall Road and Cherryvale Road at around 11 a.m. and began burning east through open space. By the time he spoke at a press conference at 5 p.m. Thursday, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said the fire had grown to 1,600 acres in size and had forced the evacuation of both Superior and Louisville.
Mandatory evacuation orders have just been issued for Broomfield structures south of U.S. 36 to 112th and west of Wadsworth, including the Interlocken area. The order was then expanded to include the area west of Simms Street to Indiana Street and south of Colo. 128.
Broomfield has also issued a pre-evacuation notice for the Via Varra and Skystone neighborhoods.
An updated map of the evacuation areas can be found at bouldercounty.maps.arcgis.com.
Lafayette officials have asked residents west of U.S. 287 between Arapahoe and Dillon roads to be prepared to evacuate should conditions worsen.
Pelle said residents in areas north of the evacuation areas are likely safe based on the path of the fire, but officials said any residents in other areas that can see fire and flames should also evacuate.
Please view the official evacuation area for the #MarshallFire at this point. Also, areas just north of S. Boulder Rd. between Cherryvale/76th up to Arapahoe Rd is in pre-evac notice. pic.twitter.com/p2OZ41rp1O
— Boulder Office of Disaster Management (@BoulderOEM) December 30, 2021
Officials at UCHealth Broomfield said the hospital has taken in six burn victims from the fire, but did not disclose their conditions. Pelle said that one officer was also injured.
Pelle said there are no missing person reports or confirmed deaths at this time, but given the speed and scope of the fire, “It wouldn’t surprise us if we did find a casualty.”
Pelle also said there were an estimated 580 structures in Superior damaged or destroyed in the fire, as emergency crews focused on getting residents evacuated ahead of the fast-moving flames. Pelle said 370 of those homes were in the Sagamore neighborhood, while in Old Town Superior at least 210 homes were lost.
The Target in Superior and the Element Hotel were also burned.
“This is the kind of fire you can’t fight off,” Pelle said.
The fire started from a downed powerline following an unusually dry and warm winter for the Front Range. Wind gusts up to 110 mph Thursday then fueled the fire as it raced through the populated area, consuming football fields-worth of land in seconds.
“This fire is not so much a question of resources,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said. “This fire is frankly a force of nature.”
Pelle said the hope is that winds would die down enough Thursday night for crews to begin actually fighting the fire.
“(Friday) I think we’ll have a chance,” Pelle said.
The forecast for Friday also calls for snow and a drastic drop in temperatures that will hopefully help slow the fire.
Louisville police Chief Dave Hayes said it was a day of “terrible loss and tragedy,” but thanked all of the outside agencies who responded and the residents of Louisville.
“Together we will forge through this,” Hayes said.
Superior Mayor Clint Folsom said the damage to the town was “devastating.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone that lost structures in this fire,” Folsom said. “I know that we will all come together to do what we can to get back to some sort of normal.”
Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville was fully evacuated by 4:15 p.m., and 51 patients were either discharged or transferred to Longmont United Hospital or St. Anthony North in Westminster. Those looking for family can call 303-661-1848.
Westbound U.S. 36 is closed at Interlocken Loop, while eastbound U.S. 36 is closed to those trying to get on the turnpike at Table Mesa but is open to those evacuating Superior.
Evacuation centers have been set up at the First Bank Center at 11450 Broomfield Lane, YMCA of Northern Colorado at 2800 Dagny Way in Lafayette, and the Longmont Senior Center, 910 Longs Peak Avenue.
The South Boulder recreation center, which had been an evacuation site, is closing due to a power outage and people are being moved to the North Boulder Recreation Center or the Lafayette YMCA.
The county also announced that the large animal evacuation at the Boulder County Fairgrounds is full. Animals must be brought to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds located at 15200 W 6th Ave. Frontage Road in Golden.
A second fire, which OEM is calling the Middle Fork Fire, was reported near North Foothills Highway and Middle Fork Road.
No size estimate was available at this time, but officials at 6 p.m. said “while the Middle Fork Fire is not officially yet contained, that fire’s situation is much less severe and the county has been able to move resources from that fire to the Marshall Fire. There are still firefighters on scene of Middle Fork Fire monitoring that fire and working on containment.”
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said U.S. 36 is closed between Nebo Road and Ute Highway as a result of the fire.
North Bound N. Foothills Hwy is closing between Nebo and Ute Hwy due to the fire. Please find alternate routes.
— BoulderCountySheriff (@BldrCOSheriff) December 30, 2021
The Boulder Office of Emergency Management was activated in response to the two fires.
While the cause of the fires have not been officially confirmed, the sheriff’s office said the initial calls were that both were caused by a downed power line.
Polis declared a state of emergency due to the fires, which allows the state to access disaster emergency funds to support the emergency response efforts in Boulder and provide state resources including the use of the Colorado National Guard, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and activation of the State Emergency Operations Center.
FEMA also approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant, which makes funding available to pay 75% of the state’s eligible firefighting costs.
The Community Foundation of Boulder County has also activated its Boulder County Wildfire Fund.
There were several other grass fires started Thursday in Boulder County due to downed lines.
The first fire was reported in the 5500 block of Broadway sometime after 10 a.m. Boulder County sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Haverfield said the fire reached about an acre in size but is now contained, and no structures were damaged.
Another fire was in the 1100 block of Cascade Drive in Boulder, and was reportedly caused by a downed power line in the backyard of a home. Boulder-Fire spokeswoman Marya Washburn said that fire was knocked down and crews are on scene waiting for electrical crews to deal with the downed line.
This is a developing story.
