Evacuees stream into Boulder as fire grows
As the Cal-wood Fire in northwest Boulder County continued to grow and move east, evacuees from the fire began filtering into Boulder as the fire exploded to 3,000 acres Saturday afternoon and forced the residents of 900
addresses out of their homes.
At the Boulder evacuation point at 3460 N. Broadway, residents began pouring into the parking lot just after 4 p.m.
Bill Sutton and his girlfriend Karla Refoxo evacuated from Jamestown with their cat Diosita in tow around 3:30 p.m.
“We could see all the intense smoke over the hill,” Sutton said, referencing a hill that sits near his Jamestown home.
Refoxo wiped tears from her eyes as she stepped out of her Jeep.
“It’s emotional,” she said. “I just really feel for all the wildlife.”
She added: “People are really calm and organized. There’s a really good chain of information happening.”
Refoxo, who recently moved from California, is used to evacuations due to wildfires. Sutton said she knew just what to do and the couple started packing as soon as they heard that the fire was on the move.
“It happened really fast,” Sutton said.
Sutton, who has lived in Jamestown with Refoxo for about a year, said that fortunately the couple has another place to go.
After checking in at the evacuation center, they planned to head to his Gunbarrel apartment.
Just after 4 p.m., representatives from the Red Cross arrived to help evacuees.
Gerry Kelly, Red Cross volunteer, said that they would be talking with evacuees and helping them to find shelter in a hotel room for free, if they needed it.
As of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Boulder County officials said all but six residents who checked in at the evacuation point were able to find places to stay on their own.
Sera and Jason Vogel and their 15-year-old son, Mack Vogel, arrived just after 5 p.m. at the evacuation point with their four dogs.
The family had been going about their Saturday as the fire continued to grow.
Sera Vogel, who works for the Boulder Valley School District as an assistant teacher, said she had been chatting on the phone with a coworker, when they got a pink notice on their door from Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to evacuate. The notice and a message in a community bulletin board from Jamestown Mayor Tara Schoedinger encouraged them to leave.
“My brother in Seattle was panicking,” Sera Vogel said. “He was like, ‘You guys need to get out of there.’”
The family grabbed a few precious belongings from their Jamestown home before heading to safety in Boulder. Sera Vogel grabbed a box of papers and Mack grabbed his computer, school supplies and a board game: backgammon.
The family, who lives 10 minutes from the Cal-wood Education Center, said the skies near their home looked clear that afternoon, with only a few wisps of smoke visible over the tree tops. They also could see planes flying overhead, working to battle the fire.
“It was surreal, because we couldn’t see anything tangible,” Sera Vogel said.
After checking in Saturday, Sera Vogel said she was worried about the family’s Jamestown home of nearly three years. The family said they plan to stay with some friends Saturday night.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse also stopped by and carried bottled water and granola bars to a shady spot near the evacuation point.
“I’m just here to help the community,” Neguse said. “We were in Larimer County earlier today helping evacuees and the Red Cross help folks from the Cameron Peak Fire. Of course, I’m very concerned by the fire that’s now emerged in Boulder County and so I wanted to help out. I’m certainly praying for the firefighters battling the flames.”
Boulder County officials have asked that people at this time not show up to the evacuation center to help or drop off supplies at this time.
Meanwhile the Boulder County Fairgrounds transformed into the temporary home for hundreds of horses Saturday afternoon, reaching capacity within hours of opening to evacuees.
Fairground staff, volunteers and first responders rushed to put together panels and to cordon off space to house more horses as trailers lined the road into the fairgrounds, bringing more evacuees looking for shelter for their animals.
The fairgrounds can hold approximately 450 horses, manager Joe Lafollete said, and it was looking to build extra shelter for 100 more.
County staff were also directing people to take their horses to Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Debbie Fedorcyzk was with her daughter at a horse show at Triple Creek Ranch in Longmont when the evacuation order came in. The ranch evacuated 60 horses to the fairgrounds.
“The fire came up really quickly and the smoke came up quickly,” she said. “We were fortunate we had a horse show going on so we had a lot of adults and a lot of trailers to help get horses out.”
Fedorcyzk could see the fire as she was driving away from the ranch.
Lisa Krieger evacuated her three horses — two adults and a baby — from her home on 65th Street.
Krieger spent Saturday morning training her young horse how to get into the trailer.
She had seen the glow of the Cameron Peak Fire near Loveland on Friday night and wanted to be prepared. She was called to evacuate at 3:40 p.m. and drove away 40 minutes later.
“I hope my house is okay, and my cat,” she said.