Snowfall Helps Douse Colorado Fires and Evacuees Face Devastation

Photo: Marc Piscotty / Getty Images

The thousands of residents evacuated from two cities in Colorado who suffered the devastation caused by the forest fires Marshall and Middle Fork that emerged and grew rapidly on Thursday, due to gusts of wind that reached speeds in excess of 105 mph, began on Friday the return to their neighborhoods, to assess the damage caused by the fire.

Tens of thousands of residents of the cities of Superior and Louisville, in Boulder County, were forced to flee on Thursday for their lives and hundreds of houses were destroyed in a short time, as the fire spread intensely and in a matter of minutes, in extreme weather conditions with gusts of hurricane force winds , said the authorities.

Apparently the fires were caused by falling power poles in an area that has suffered from extreme drought.

There have been no reported deaths from these wildfires in Colorado.

It could be a “new year’s miracle,” said the governor Jared Polis. One person reported missing was found and several others have been treated for injuries, authorities said.

At least 1, 000 houses were reduced to ashes , reported the local newspaper The Denver Gazette.

Firefighters reported that the snowfall on Friday helped put out the fires.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has placed part of Colorado under a winter storm warning and forecast more snowfall in the coming days.

Massive destruction

The damage is enormous: in the aerial images entire streets are seen reduced to smoking ash. Unlike other fires, these were not limited to rural areas and reached cities.

Este morning I’m joined by our emergency management experts to inspect the damage caused by the Marshall and Middle Fork fires. This is a tragedy and the emergency is not over. We will work together to support Coloradans affected by this devastating fire #coloradostrong pic.twitter.com/fIXdeEl7er

— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 31 , 2048

“The families had just a few minutes to collect everything they could -the animals, their children- in the car and leave ”, said the governed Jared Polis at a press conference on Friday. It happened “in the blink of an eye.”

“When you see the devastation, it’s amazing that we don’t have a list of 100 persons missing, but we don’t have it, ”said the Louisiana Sheriff during a press conference.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management asked residents to stay out of evacuation zones on Friday morning, although some had already started the recovery process .

On a Facebook page, dozens of people posted about animals they were looking for or found in and around the burned areas.

Authorities are also helping to rescue the animals:

In a call to Governor Polis, President Joe Biden promised that “every effort will be made to provide immediate assistance to affected people and populations,” according to the White House.

Biden approved an expedited major disaster declaration to be finalized later that day , reported Polis.

“What that means is that it allows those who suffered losses, small businesses and homeowners, not they will have to wait for the preliminary damage assessment for housing and small business assistance, ”Polis said. “So that will be available very soon.”

“And the President sends his regards to the people of Colorado and those who are directly affected. ”.

Governor Polis had declared a state of emergency since Thursday, allowing the state to access emergency disaster funds to assist in immediate response to fires.