A huge fire in Colorado: Hundreds of homes caught fire and tens of thousands of civilians were evacuated

Two towns were completely evacuated and at least six people were injured in a fire that is spreading under the auspices of the drought and strong winds.

The governor of Colorado said the flames consumed areas the size of football fields within seconds, and declared a state of emergency.

"All that could be done was to evacuate people before the fire reached them."

Reuters

31/12/2021

Friday, 31 December 2021, 04:50 Updated: 05:18

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Documentation of evacuated civilians from the Colorado fire area (HUNT FRYE / HENRY MEADOWS)

Hundreds of homes caught fire last night (Saturday) in a huge fire near Denver, the capital of Colorado in the United States.

According to state authorities, tens of thousands of residents were evacuated from two towns at risk of flare-ups, and at least six people were injured in the fire.

According to Joe Pele, the sheriff of Boulder County where the fire is taking place, it began following contact of sparks from power lines and transformers in grassy areas, and intensified following strong winds that helped the fire spread to the arid area.

The first to receive eviction orders were residents of the town of Superior, which has a population of about 13,000.

Shortly afterwards, 18,000 residents of the nearby town of Louisville also received eviction orders from their home, the Boulder County Emergency Management Agency said.

At the same time, the National Weather Service in Boulder tweeted: "Every superior under an eviction order. Leave now!".

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A building on fire in a suburb of Boulder, Colorado, tonight (Photo: Reuters)

Firefighters in a suburb of Boulder, Colorado, tonight (Photo: Reuters)

Within hours of the fire, it had consumed about 1,600 dunams and destroyed more than 500 homes, Pele said in a briefing to reporters.

He said an entire plot of 370 homes west of Superior went up in flames, and 210 apartments were lost in the town’s Old Town area, along with more homes in the area.

Alongside this, the property damage also included a shopping center and hotel.

The extent of the property loss has not yet been determined, but KMGH-TV, the local ABC news outlet, aired footage of many homes going up in flames.

Governor Jared Polis said the flames consumed areas the size of football fields within seconds, calling the fire a "force of nature."

The sheriff added that stormy winds made stopping the fire impossible, saying firefighters and emergency crews "they just wanted to get people out of the fire lane before it reached them. That's all that could have been done."

House on fire in Superior, Colorado, tonight (Photo: Reuters, Eric English)

Among the evacuees were about 30 patients and staff at Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, which closed and was completely evacuated starting in the late afternoon (US time). Some patients were released to their homes and the rest were transferred to other hospitals in the area. incident.

authorities said that according to weather forecasts winds are expected to weaken on Friday morning, allowing firefighters to control the flames and sent helicopters and planes with water tankers fire extinguisher. governor Police declared a state of emergency allows the use of funding disasters to support the efforts of emergency teams in the province and to allow Recruitment of the Colorado National Guard and other state resources as needed.

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