At least 26 homes lost
Blaze still at 8,788 acres, 15% co.tai.oe.t
At least 26 homes have been destroyed and parts of northwest Boulder County remain evacuated, but firefighters were able to limit growth on the Cal-wood Fire on Sunday.
Boulder County sheriff’s Division Chief Mike Wagner said there was “relatively little growth” on the fire Sunday, and at 7 p.m. Sunday it remained at 8,788 acres and 15% containment. He said the most concerning area of the fire heading into Monday is the difficult, steep and rocky northern ridge terrain.
At almost 9,000 acres, Cal-wood is already the largest wildfire in the county’s history, surpassing 2010’s Fourmile Fire, officials said. The Fourmile Fire burned a total of 6,181 acres and destroyed 165 homes plus four other structures in the mountains west of Boulder.
Sunday evening, Boulder Reservoir was closed to the public so it can serve as an operations center and campsite for firefighters fighting the Cal-wood and Lefthand Canyon fires, Boulder officials announced. City Manager Jane Brautigam declared a local disaster emergency and issued an emergency order closing the reservoir, according to a tweet on the city’s official account.
Wagner said after an initial damage assessment, at least 26 homes have been lost in the fire, though he said there were likely more that investigators have not been able to find yet.
Of those homes, 19 were on Mountain Ridge Road on the eastern edge of the fire near U.S. 36 and Nelson Road, four were on Foothills Ranch Drive and three are listed in the Heil Ranch neighborhood. Of the 26 structures, 23 are deemed a total loss. The full list of structure damage can be found at boulderoem.com.
Wagner did say fire crews were able to prevent the loss of any more structures Sunday through fire suppression efforts.
He added that at this time only two people at this time are unaccounted for, and that their home was on the edge of the evacuation zone and not in the burn area, but family had not been able to reach them since about 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Two other people reported missing
Saturday night that have since been found. A firefighter with a minor ankle injury Saturday is the extent of known injuries at this time.
Wagner also said the initial plan for Sunday was for aerial crews to hit the fire “as hard as they can” before winds picked back up later in the day, but weather ultimately did not allow aerial crews to attack the CalWood Fire, though they were able to work on the nearby Lefthand Canyon Fire.
About 250 firefighters are continuing to work the fire on the ground, with teams going into the field to assess damage when it’s safe, Wagner said. Additionally, there are about 65 people working in Boulder’s emergency operations center and about 80 law enforcement officers are securing the perimeter and patrolling within the closure.
By 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Boulder County officials reported containment on the fire had gone from 5% in the morning to 15%.
A federal incident team will be taking over command of the fire Monday morning, Wagner said.
Saturday, the evacuation area included Jamestown plus areas north of Jamestown east through Altona. However, evacuation orders for all areas east of North Foothills Highway were lifted at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Jamestown remains in the evacuation warning area.
In total, Boulder County officials said 1,646 residences were within the mandatory evacuation area on Saturday, with a population of 2,984 people.
A complete evacuation map can be found at b o u l d e r c o u n t y. m a p s . arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/ index. html? id =13ab214fe2bb4da5a850df 0ca0f00fc5.
An evacuation point has been set up at Boulder County’s North Broadway Complex at 3460 N. Broadway where evacuees can find information.
Pets are allowed at that point, or they can be taken to The Humane Society of Boulder Valley at 2323 55th St. Livestock can be taken to the Boulder County Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road in Longmont, though the fairgrounds were filling up. If the Boulder County Fairgrounds is full, livestock can be taken to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds at 15200 W. 6th Ave. Frontage Road in Golden.
The fire was first reported at noon Saturday near the Cal-wood Education Center at 2282 County Road 87.
As of Sunday evening, a cause and point of origin have not yet been determined. Wagner did say Saturday night that there were no lightning strikes in the area, so the fire was likely not weather-related. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service are jointly investigating the fire.
The fire also caused several road closures in the area, including South St. Vrain between Peak to Peak Highway and Lyons, including Riverside Drive. County Road 87 is also closed.
U.S. 36 remained closed between Boulder and Lyons overnight Saturday. Lee Hill Road is closed at Lefthand Canyon, as is Olde Stage Road.
Heil Valley Ranch and Hall Ranch trails are closed. Lagerman Agricultural Preserve, Pella Crossing and Anne U. White Trail on Boulder County open space also were closed as the fire advanced, while Longmont closed Button Rock Preserve.
“We know curiosity is a big thing. We just ask the community to be helpful, allow fire personal distance to work and to get their job done so they can suppress the fire as quickly as possible,” Wagner said at the news conference.
Officials advised people to avoid the area to allow first responders room to work.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-lafayette, announced on Saturday that FEMA has authorized federal funds to help fight the fire through a Fire Management Assistance Grant.
Boulder Valley School District announced Sunday evening shortly after 7:30 p.m. Gold Hill and Jamestown elementary schools will be closed Monday as a result of the fires. The closure will impact mostly staff, since Monday is an independent remote learning day, a tweet from the school district reads.
Both Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school district officials sent letters to families letting them know the districts are monitoring the fire. Monday is a planned day off for St. Vrain students.
Officials in both districts offered support to affected families. So far, no school buildings in either district have been affected.