Official Thread for all 2021 Colorado Fire Season Topics (Superior: shop, Whole Foods)

[Vision67]

Wildfire burns hundreds of homes in Boulder County, forces evacuation of Superior and Louisville

Officials say Marshall fire likely sparked by downed power lines as wind gusts exceeded 100 mph

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/12/3...o-grass-fires/

"HIGHLIGHTS
▸ A series of large wildfires have forced more than 30,000 people to evacuate Boulder County, Superior and Louisville

▸ At least 500 homes have been destroyed and six people have been hospitalized as a result of the blazes

▸ Residents in Superior, Boulder County, and Louisville should consult the Boulder Emergency Operations Center Public Information Map

▸ The Boulder OEM has a list of evacuation shelters

▸ Those under pre-evacuation order should pay close attention to advice issued by fire officials on how to prepare for evacuation"

So sad.

This looks like a repeat of the Waldo Canyon fires in Colorado Springs during 2012.

The victims can learn how to deal with the aftermath from the experiences of those who dealt with that fire.

I really don't miss those hurricane winds.

[Vision67]

NYT coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12...re-evacuations

[twowilldo]

Originally Posted by Vision67

[b]Wildfire burns hundreds of homes in Boulder County, forces evacuation of Superior and Louisville

...

I really don't miss those hurricane winds.

I know, right? I remember 100 MPH winds actually flexing our sliding doors, while fairly rare... not unheard of screaming down and through El Dorado and Coal Creek canyons, across the upper plateau.

Several friends lost their homes last night and my heart breaks for those thousands of people directly affected. Nobody would have ever suspected burbs and especially downtown Louisville would ever suffer from catastrophic wildfire event.

Yet we moved to (land of hurricanes) FL from that very area 3+ years ago. Criminy.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by twowilldo

. . .Nobody would have ever suspected burbs and especially downtown Louisville would ever suffer from catastrophic wildfire event. . .

A bit of good news, local news showing downtown Louisville has not burned.

[amattaro]

Originally Posted by mlulu23

Moving this thread on an current fire threat was not a good idea. People may need quick information on evacuation, and putting this in an old thread makes it very hard to find current information. Lives, and property are at risk. This is happening in Boulder County, and should stay in the Boulder section. Each fire should have it's own thread. My daughter, and I lived in Boulder for 8 yrs, and I am shocked at the devastation. I hurt for all who are suffering. I loved that area.

+10000000000. More concerned with a “clean” board than providing any utility.

[Cloudy Dayz]

We had the exact same thing happen in Southern Oregon last year. We lost several entire towns.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it. This type of urban development is comical. A five story newly constructed hotel, that was reported on fire and a total loss at the exact same time. My god, if it hadn't been evacuated before it caught fire, people could have been inside that pile of kindling wood when it went up. That type of construction shouldn't even be legal.

Another disconcerting thing I noticed while watching the videos was that the temperature seemed to be barely above freezing. Wild fires tend to burn themselves out when it gets that cold. If the temperature had been in the 70s or 80s with those 100 mph winds this fire would have been unstoppable. No telling how long or how far it could have burned.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

We had the exact same thing happen in Southern Oregon last year. We lost several entire towns.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it. This type of urban development is comical. A five story newly constructed hotel, that was reported on fire and a total loss at the exact same time. My god, if it hadn't been evacuated before it caught fire, people could have been inside that pile of kindling wood when it went up. That type of construction shouldn't even be legal.

Another disconcerting thing I noticed while watching the videos was that the temperature seemed to be barely above freezing. Wild fires tend to burn themselves out when it gets that cold. If the temperature had been in the 70s or 80s with those 100 mph winds this fire would have been unstoppable. No telling how long or how far it could have burned.

Did you also notice that we're in a severe dry spell - Since June 21, we've had a total of 1.5 inches or so of precipitation. Not normal. We've had virtually no snow yet; fortunately, snow is finally predicted to start at noon or so. It's as dry as it can possibly get. That's a driving force.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by mlulu23

Moving this thread on an current fire threat was not a good idea. People may need quick information on evacuation, and putting this in an old thread makes it very hard to find current information. Lives, and property are at risk. This is happening in Boulder County, and should stay in the Boulder section. Each fire should have it's own thread. My daughter, and I lived in Boulder for 8 yrs, and I am shocked at the devastation. I hurt for all who are suffering. I loved that area.

A random Internet forum is not the right place for people to come for reliable information about the fire. I would suggest going through official channels connected to emergency services. https://www.boulderoem.com/emergency-status/

[twowilldo]

Originally Posted by suzco

A bit of good news, local news showing downtown Louisville has not burned.

Yes, you're right. Looking at that now. Other than the Target, looks like the other structures... Costco, Whole Foods weren't affected (obvious damage anyway). Davidson Mesa... on the other hand... holy cow.

Pretty crazy stuff.

[mic111]

Getting info early on was interesting. Our best source was Nextdoor. None of the news channels were covering it yet so we couldn't find any updates on TV. Finally channel 7 swung into action and had good coverage.

The individual cities police tweets seemed to be the most timely. It took a while (almost the entire time) for the Boulder map to reflect updates by the individual cities when they issued evac. and pre-evac orders. But even the police would sometimes announce one thing and then have to correct themselves.

However reports on Nextdoor were/may have been confused. People east of I-25 had burned debris falling in their yard so people thought there were fires nearby.

The most accurate reporting was pictures people were taking from their decks and them reporting where they lived. The city police were overwhelmed with calls of reports and they asked people not to call unless they saw flames because it appeared there were fires everywhere and on all sides based on individual's reports.

Also people were getting the Costco in Superior mixed up with the one in Thornton. Same with the Target.