Boulder County, Colo. – The cities of Superior and Louisville, Colorado was placed under an evacuation order Thursday due to fast-moving wildfires nearing in Boulder County. Officials are calling the event a ‘life-threatening emergency.’
“This is becoming a very high impact wind event for our area, please take it seriously and abide by any evacuation orders from local authorities,” the National Weather Service said.
More grass fires were ignited due to downed power lines in Boulder County. Heavy winds were hampering firefighters’ efforts.
Governor Jared Polis has declared a state of emergency. The declaration allows the state to access disaster emergency funds to support the emergency response efforts in Boulder and provide state resources including the use of the Colorado National Guard, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and activation of the State Emergency Operations Center.
Fire Command has issued an order of evacuation for the City of Louisville. If you're in the area, please act quickly.
— Boulder OEM (@BoulderOEM) December 30, 2021
Boulder County Office of Emergency Management has just announced an Evacuation Order for ALL of Superior, Colorado residents. Evacuation point is the South Boulder Recreation Center. The Superior Community Center is not an official evacuation location.
— Town of Superior, Colorado (@townofsuperior) December 30, 2021
Life threating situation in Superior and Louisville areas!
Fast moving fires are in the area. Gather more information and please be prepared to evacuate immediately. # cowx
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 30, 2021
Fast-moving grass fire south of Boulder visible from our office. Multiple wildfires burning across the county.
This is becoming a very high impact wind event for our area, please take it seriously and abide by any evacuation orders from local authorities. pic.twitter.com/5lTNn3M6Hx
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 30, 2021
Moving fast into neighborhood. Fences on fire pic.twitter.com/AtS9W8MOgr
— Eric English (@EricEnglish777) December 30, 2021
Fire in Superior Colorado. @9NEWS pic.twitter.com/KTizgvslu6
— Alex Martinez (@AlexTakesFotos) December 30, 2021
Not good pic.twitter.com/1mmqrF3PEl
— Eric English (@EricEnglish777) December 30, 2021
Power lines downed and transformers exploded. 3 fires now in the area, this is when it first rolled in to #louisville #Boulder #fire pic.twitter.com/kDeRobNQBB
— Pandora Spocks (@CORiversong) December 30, 2021
Boulder Fire behind Costco In Superior Colorado. Thanks to the guy in the truck for saying to turn around 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/3fmI7XxXwT
— Robert Gutierrez (@Robertt_ml) December 30, 2021
Entire mall being evacuated Costco #marshallfire pic.twitter.com/rlVMsj5RV5
— nataliewarady (@N4ttybyn4ture) December 30, 2021
You can see the fire moving in this shot. It’s a DOT camera SE of #Superior Colorado along US-36. #cowx pic.twitter.com/qoZhZCcE7T
— Chris Gloninger (@ChrisGloninger) December 30, 2021
Very strong winds fueling the #marshallfire. Never a good sign when radar shows a smoke plume this strong.
Please heed all evacuations associated with this fire. Follow @BoulderOEM for latest evacuations and official fire info. #COwx pic.twitter.com/EzYy80xOBd
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 30, 2021
Multiple reports of powerlines down, transformers blowing, etc. This has caused several small grass fires from the downed/sparking lines. One grass fire is near the 5000 block of N. Broadway, another is near N. Foothills and Middle Fork. Crews are responding to both fires. pic.twitter.com/rdvrwf5K5j
— BoulderCountySheriff (@BldrCOSheriff) December 30, 2021
Large animal evacuation site is open at Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. Please enter through Humane Society entrance on Nelson Road so as to not conflict with COVID testing.
— Boulder OEM (@BoulderOEM) December 30, 2021
#MiddleForkFire and #MarshallFire evacuation points are at South Boulder Rec Center (1360 Gillaspie Dr, Boulder) and Longmont Senior Center (910 Longs Peak Ave, Longmont)
— Boulder OEM (@BoulderOEM) December 30, 2021
#US36 (Boulder Turnpike) westbound: Road closed due to safety concerns between West Flatiron Crossing Drive and Boulder Turnpike. closed both directions Interlocken Loop to Foothills Pkwy https://t.co/3BzluJwXRY
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) December 30, 2021
Further evacuations may be necessary. Boulder County emergency staff will continue to contact residents if further evacuations become necessary. The Superior Community Center is available as a shelter for residents. South Boulder Recreation Center is also available as shelter.
— Town of Superior, Colorado (@townofsuperior) December 30, 2021
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the blaze or how many people were injured.
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