After a wildfire charred numerous neighborhoods in a suburban area at the base of the Rocky Mountains, a Colorado official says nearly 1,000 homes and other structures were destroyed, hundreds more were damaged, and three people are missing.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle also stated on Saturday that investigators are still looking for the cause of the wind-whipped blaze that erupted Thursday and blackened entire neighborhoods in the Denver-Boulder area.
According to Pelle, utility officials discovered no downed power lines near where the fire started. He stated that authorities were following up on a number of leads and had executed a search warrant at “one specific location.” He refused to provide specifics.
A sheriff’s official who declined to be identified confirmed that one property in Boulder County’s Marshall Mesa area, a region of open grassland about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) west of the hard-hit town of Superior, was under investigation. According to the official, a National Guard Humvee blocked access to the property, which was only one of several under investigation.
Pelle’s totals include destroyed barns, outbuildings, and other structures, but the vast majority were homes, according to Boulder County spokesperson Jennifer Churchill late Saturday.
Officials had previously estimated that at least 500 homes — possibly 1,000 — were destroyed in the fire, which had been declared extinguished by Friday. Residents have gradually begun to return to see the extent of the devastation.
Authorities had previously stated that no one was missing. However, Churchill explained that this was due to the confusion that occurs when agencies scramble to manage an emergency.
Pelle stated that cadaver teams were being organized to search for the missing in the Superior area and unincorporated Boulder County. According to him, the task is complicated by debris from destroyed structures that has been covered by 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow dumped by a storm overnight.
According to Pelle, at least 991 homes and other structures were destroyed: 553 in Louisville, 332 in Superior, and 106 in unincorporated areas of the county. Pelle was quick to point out that the tally was not final.
The wildfire that erupted in and around Louisville and Superior, neighboring towns about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver with a combined population of 34,000, injured at least seven people. It consumed at least 9.4 square miles of land (24 square kilometers).
The snow and temperatures in the single digits create an eerie atmosphere among the still-smoldering remains of homes. Despite the unexpected change in weather, the smell of smoke pervaded the empty streets blocked off by National Guard troops in Humvees.
The conditions exacerbated the misery of residents who began the new year attempting to salvage what was left of their homes.
Utility crews struggled to restore power and gas service to homes that had survived, and dozens of people lined up at Red Cross shelters to receive donated space heaters, bottled water, and blankets. Xcel Energy advised residents to use fireplaces and wood stoves to stay warm and prevent their home’s pipes from freezing.
Families waited in line for space heaters and bottled water at a Salvation Army distribution center at the YMCA in Lafayette, just north of Superior.
Noah Sarasin and his twin brother Gavin, both Monarch High School seniors, had been volunteering at that location for two days, directing traffic and distributing donations.
“We have a house, we don’t have heat, but we have a house,” Noah Sarasin explained. “I’m just checking to make sure everyone else has heat on this bitterly cold day.”
Hilary and Patrick Wallace purchased two heaters and then went to a nearby cafe to order two hot chocolate mochas. The Superior couple couldn’t find a hotel and were considering hiking the 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) back to their house, which was still closed to traffic. On New Year’s Eve, the entire family slept in the same room.
When a man entered the shop and joked that he’d lost his coffee mugs — and everything else — in the fire, both of them burst into tears. The man was cheerful, laughing at the irony of the situation.
“I have a space heater and a house in which to put it.” “I don’t know what to say to them,” Hilary sobbed as she wiped away a tear.
Jeff Markley, a Superior resident, arrived in his truck to pick up a heater. He stated that he considers himself fortunate to be “merely displaced” because his home is undamaged.
“We’re making due, staying with friends, and looking forward to the new year.” “It’s got to be better than this one,” Markley said.
Not everyone was as upbeat.
“It’s bittersweet because we have our own home, but our friends don’t.” “And our neighbors don’t,” said Judy Givens, a Louisville resident, as she and her husband picked up a heater. “We thought 2022 would be a better year.” Then there was omicron. And now we have this, which isn’t going so well.”
Dozens of people trudged through the snow to assess the condition of their homes and collect their belongings.
When Viliam Klein saw the ruins of his 100-year-old home in Superior for the first time on Saturday, he broke down in tears. A few neighbors walked by, carrying what they could from their own destroyed homes as smoke rose through the snow-covered ashes.
“At this point, I’m just honestly overwhelmed, and I can’t feel much,” Klein explained. He sifted ash with his hands, and wisps of smoke rose from his gloved palms. He looked around at what was left of the neighborhood.
“You know, the playground for kids is just down the street over there.” And I’ll be able to buy new books. I have the means to purchase new furniture. But it’s extremely difficult to rebuild a community, friends, and a social network like that,” Klein explained. “”I’m sorry for my kids because they’re going to lose everything. “I’m sorry for everyone else’s children.”
Donna O’Brien bundled up with her son Robert and set out on the 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) journey to check on their house. “I think we’re still in a state of shock,” she admitted. “This is our neighborhood, and it happens everywhere else, but it shouldn’t happen where you live.”
The wildfire started unusually late in the year, after an extremely dry fall and a winter nearly devoid of snow until the overnight snowfall. High winds fanned flames that fed on bone-dry grasses and vegetation on farmland and open spaces dotted with suburban subdivisions.
Climate change, according to scientists, is making weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
90% of Boulder County is in severe or extreme drought, and there hasn’t been any significant rain since mid-summer. Denver set a record for the longest period of time without snow before receiving a small snowfall on December 10, the last snowfall before the wildfires broke out.
“There was no snow during the entire winter of 2021.” “It’s no surprise that everything went up like kindling,” Klein said.