The wind-fueled flames of the Marshall Fire dashed from house to house yesterday, torching entire neighborhoods and skipping others, indiscriminately destroying lives and capping a difficult year in Colorado.
The latest: The orange flames that lit up the skies around Boulder County left behind a black-and-white scene Friday, as snow fell on charred homes and piles of gray ash.
Emergency officials are beginning the grim task of assessing the damage as evacuated residents are eager to know whether their homes are still standing.
Two thousand homes are in the burn area, and Gov. Jared Polis said that nearly 1,000 homes and businesses were decimated in Superior, Louisville and other Denver and Boulder suburbs. Local authorities put the estimate closer to 500.
- The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but emergency officials reported downed power lines in the area where the blaze began.
- Displaced residents are still not allowed to return to their homes because of dangerous conditions and smoldering flames in some areas, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said at a briefing this morning.
- Xcel Energy is working to restore power to 15,000 customers in the area, and Louisville and Superior residents are advised to boil water.
- There are no known casualties and only a few people suffered burns — an outcome the sheriff called "miraculous."
What they're saying: "It feels like we've experienced enough loss and tragedy these last two years," Polis said....
- "This is our community, and to watch it burn so quickly, so unexpectedly, is something that I think we are all just struggling to believe