Hundreds flee Colorado wildfire

AP

FIRE ON THE PLAINS: Kurt Rieder, in white hat, with his nine-year-old daughter Lily watch the smoke plume from a wildfire burning in the Four Mile Canyon area just west of Boulder.

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A wind-whipped wildfire roared through a rugged canyon in the Colorado foothills, forcing hundreds of people to flee and destroying an unknown number of homes - some that belonged to the firefighters themselves.

The blaze broke out Monday morning local time in Four Mile Canyon northwest of Boulder and rapidly spread across 14 square kilometres. Erratic winds gusting to 72kph spread the flames quickly, sometimes in two directions at once..

Despite the fire's quick and destructive advance, no injuries had been reported, although some residents told of narrow escapes.

"I just drove through a wall of flames," Tom Neur told KDVR-TV. "The bumper is melted off in the front of the van."

Neur's wife, Anna, left earlier, and the couple reunited at a temporary shelter. They said their house was destroyed.

"I don't care about the house," Anna Neur told her husband. "I'm just glad you're OK."

Fire managers said 1,000 homes had to be evacuated from the canyon and surrounding areas, but they didn't know how many were destroyed, other than four belonging to firefighters.

Those firefighters were allowed to leave to attend to their families and personal affairs, said Laura McConnell, a spokeswoman for the fire management team.

The fire's cause was unknown. Officials said it was too early to say how much, if any, of the fire was contained.

"It's very rocky, hilly, mountainous terrain," said Boulder County sheriff's Cmdr. Rick Brough.

Video from KUSA-TV showed at least one home engulfed in flames.

"There is ash falling from the sky," David Jones told The Denver Post from his home in the village of Gold Hill. "We're getting out of here."

Officials said one fire vehicle was destroyed by the blaze.

More than 100 firefighters were on the scene, and the winds quieted enough by late afternoon to allow three aerial tankers to begin dropping fire retardant.

Some ground crews remained at the fire through the night. At least four more aerial tankers were requested to join the fight Tuesday morning.

More than a half-dozen dirt roads that thread the narrow canyons were closed.

A billowing, white plume of heavy smoke was visible for miles before sunset. County health officials advised residents to stay indoors if the smoky air became irritating.

The Boulder County alert system malfunctioned for about two hours Monday afternoon, leaving authorities unable to send automatic calls telling residents to evacuate. Officials said it began working again later.

The Red Cross set up an overnight evacuation centre at the Coors Events Center on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder.

A shelter for livestock was set up at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont.

- AP