Authorities issued an evacuation order for 19,400 people on Saturday near a fast-moving Colorado wildfire in rolling hills south of the college town of Boulder, not far from the site of a destructive 2021 blaze that leveled more than 1,000 homes almost three months to the day.
The wildfire was fueled by wind earlier in the day and had grown to 126 acres with no containment, Boulder Fire-Rescue spokesperson Marya Washburn said.
The fire is burning near the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, and is being referred to as the NCAR fire.
An air tanker drops fire retardant on the NCAR Fire on Saturday in Boulder, Colorado
The NCAR Fire burns on March 26, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder Office of Emergency Management tweets about the NCAR fire on Saturday evening. The evacuation areas include 19,000 people and 8,000 homes. The fire is currently at 126 acres and zero containment.
The Boulder Police Department tweets an evacuation map of the NCAR Fire on Saturday night
A man watches as the NCAR Fire burns on Saturday in Boulder, Colorado
An air tanker drops slurry on the NCAR Fire on Saturday afternoon
The wildfire, which has forced almost 20,000 people to evacuate their homes and started just a few miles away from where the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in December
An air tanker flies above the NCAR Fire on Saturday afternoon
A tree goes up in flames as the NCAR Fire burns on March 26, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado
Firefighters work during a wildfire near the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) prompted a large evacuation in Boulder, Colorado
A single engine air tanker drops water on the NCAR fire as it burns in the foothills south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado
The Boulder Police Department tweeted photos of the NCAR Fire on Saturday
About 19,000 Colorado residents were ordered to evacuate Saturday due to a fast-moving fire
An officer with Boulder Police launched a drone in order to get a clearer view of the fire
The wildfire had grown to 126 acres (50 hectares) by late afternoon with no containment, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management
The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said an overnight shelter was opened after evacuation orders covered 8,000 homes and 7,000 structures. No structures had been damaged.
Winds and temperatures have died down, Washburn said. Officials expect to be dealing with the fire for several days due to heavy fuels, said Boulder Fire-Rescue Wildland Division Chief Brian Oliver.
Nevertheless, a pre-evacuation order was issued by the police department.
‘Pre-evacuation warning has gone out to the following areas: West of Hwy. 93, north of Eldorado Canyon State Park, east side of Walker Ranch Open Space and south of Greenbriar Boulevard. Be ready to evacuate and keep alert.’
An emergency tweet message posted online: ”Message is to EVACUATE area due to fast moving wildfire,’ the posting from police department read in part.
Smoke billows from a wildfire on Saturday. About 19,000 Colorado residents have been ordered to evacuate
White smoke from the fire near Boulder, Colorado is seen billowing into the skies above
Boulder County Sheriff deputies keep the road closed at Highway 93 and Eldorado Spring Drive in Boulder on Saturday
An air tanker attempts to dampen the flames with fire retardant being distributed from above
People watch as the NCAR fire burns in the foothills south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado
The front of the fire can be seen as it spreads across the Colorado hillsides
Trees go up in flames and are surrounded by smoke
A fire fighting aircraft attempts to put out the flames along the hillsides
The wildfire, which forced almost 20,000 people to evacuate their homes. It started just a few miles away from where the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in December, 2021
Smoke filters through the trees as the NCAR Fire burns on Saturday in Boulder, Colorado
The University of Colorado Boulder Police also tweeted that their South Campus was being evacuated.
Strong winds in the area caused officials to fear could spread further.
Authorities investigating the blaze origins say it began south of the Mesa Laboratory, where there is a canyon and trails .
“The fire started this afternoon down in the Bear Creek drainage,” Brian Oliver, chief of the Boulder Fire Rescue Wildland Division, said at an evening press conference.
The fire is in an area where a blaze destroyed 1,000 homes last year in unincorporated Boulder County and suburban Superior and Louisville.
From left to right, Laura Tyson, Tod Smith and Rebecca Caldwell, residents of Eldorado Springs, watch as the fire burns in the foothills south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research
Amitai Beh, 6, watches the NCAR Fire through binoculars on Saturday in Boulder, Colorado
A little boy watches the fire from the rooftop of a car on Saturday afternoon
The NCAR fire burns in the foothills south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research
Small air tankers were seen in the skies above Boulder as smoke and fire raged below
Firetrucks sit in a neighborhood next to the NCAR Fire on in Boulder, Colorado
Firefighters hose down the area surrounding a neighborhood as the NCAR Fire burns close by
Firefighters can be seen battling the fire directly on the hillsides in Boulder
A firefighter watches as the NCAR Fire burns close by on Saturday afternoon
Superior town officials told residents in an email that there were no immediate concerns for the community.
The 2021 blaze burned Alicia Miller’s home, where she could see smoke from Saturday’s fire rising in the background.
She posted a photo on Twitter and referenced climate change, which has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists.
Miller said her neighbors helped her escape along with her husband, Craig, their three adult sons and two dogs, Ginger and Chloe.
She said the hardest losses from the blaze were things they didn’t look at much, like baby shoes, family pictures and letters from her grandmother.
‘I feel exhausted by all of this, and I just feel like enough as far as these fires and disasters,’ she said.
She pointed to a recent Texas wildfire that left a deputy dead and homes destroyed. ‘ … So I’m standing there and it’s just kind of a repeat.’
Saturday’s fire started around 2pm and burned protected wildland near the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder police said.
A home that was destroyed in the Marshall Fire in December of 2021 sits in ruins as the NCAR Fire burns in the distance on Saturday
Just three months ago, the area was hit by wild fires. Saturday’s wildfire can be seen in the distance
This photo provided by realtor Alicia Miller shows the ruins of Miller’s former house, which burned to the ground in December 30 in the devastating Marshall Fire that roared through Louisville, Colorado as smoke from the NCAR Fire burns in the background
Fire engines pass Colorado State Patrol officers as they drive along Highway 93 head to help fight the NCAR fire burns in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado
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