Driving into Boulder, Colorado this morning you could see and smell how close the 4Mile Wildfire was burning. While there were no visible flames at that hour (6 am Mountain Time), the city of 102,000 people and county of nearly 300,000 was covered in a cloud of smoke. It’s so thick, authorities recommended residents close their windows and stay inside, it’s that unhealthy. As of this afternoon, 7,120 acres had burned in canyon areas about a 15 minute drive from the city. That, according to the Boulder County Sheriff.
Approximately 3,000 people have been forced from their homes under mandatory evacuations. About a dozen or so refused to leave their homes, even as a “wall of flames”, as some described the fast moving blaze, approached their residences. Today, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter addressed those folks, urging people to, “…allow firefighters to do their business, “ emphasizing that they really shouldn’t be arguing with authorities who are attempting to re-evacuate them. The afternoon news conference was attended by more residents than members of the media. The same was true of the earlier briefing, in the morning, given by Boulder County Sheriff Commander Rick Blough.
While Blough attempted to give his update, some in the crowd starting shouting questions about when they would get to go home, how many acres had burned, and why hadn’t (in their opinions) the fire fighting force jumped on the blaze sooner. The answer, according to the sheriff, the air support which drops the slurry, was grounded by 45 mph winds yesterday.
Today, it was the opposite problem that kept 7 tankers and two spotter planes on the tarmac. Still air kept the cloud of smoke too close to the ground for the spotters to see the target of flames below. So firefighters were grounded until the earth below the smoke warmed up enough to push it into the sky, and provide a clearing for the tankers and spotters. In his newser, Governor Ritter explained that while he understands folks’ anxiety about wanting to go home, it is imperative that everyone understand the number one priority is public safety, then the emergency responders safety, and finally the structures. And although 63 structures have been lost, authorities say they are likely, not all homes.
