There are still three people missing after a tragic and rare Colorado wildfire destroys thousands of homes this week. The news of those missing was released Saturday by officials as they continue to surveil the damage of the sudden winter wildfire.
The tragic fire that ripped through neighborhoods and businesses alike in Colorado started Thursday in and around the Louisville and Superior communities. Both of which sit right at the base of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
The record-breaking wind speeds created an environment in which the fire continued to feed, causing massive damage throughout the area. By this weekend, the dangerous fire had destroyed entire areas and neighborhoods throughout a thirty-mile radius from Denver and Boulder.
The fire was terrifyingly sudden, and officials had initially announced that they believed that no deaths had resulted from the disaster. However, they are now preparing to bring in a team of cadaver dogs. This, officials say, could aid them in the search for the missing.
Officials Are Still Determining the Origin of the Colorado Wildfires
Many theories as to how this devastating fire started in the Denver and Boulder areas of Colorado have emerged over the last few days. However, the investigators are still investigating these questions. According to Boulder County Sheriff Joe Belle, the investigation is still ongoing as of Saturday.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” says one Colorado resident, David Marks of the fires, according to the New York Post.
“Just house after house, fences,” Marks continues as he stands on a hillside overlooking the devastation the wildfires left in their wake. “Just stuff flying through the air, just caught on fire.”
The catastrophic fires turned house after house, and business after business into ashen piles as it ripped through the area. Cathy Glaab of Superior says she watched as her home burned to the ground. Watching as the flames reduced her home to a pile of ashes and debris. Glaab’s home is one of seven in a row destroyed by the flames.
“The mailbox is standing,” Cathy Glaab says of what remains of her home.
“So many memories,” she says between tears.
The winter fire continued to blaze even as the area still had upwards to six inches of snow on the ground in many areas. And temperatures saw single-digit numbers during the last week.
In all, the devastating wildfire burned and destroyed areas across a ten-square-mile radius. However, officials have declared they no longer believe the blaze to be an immediate threat to the area.
While we know there was plenty of snow sitting upon the ground as the flame continued to grow, the Boulder county area was likely at risk before the approach of winter. Boulder County hasn’t seen any substantial rainfall since the summer months and is in the middle of a severe drought.
