Catastrophic wildfires near Boulder, Colorado, USA

Fires driven by winds of approx.105 mph/169 kmh destroyed several suburban areas a few miles southeast of Boulder, Colorado on New Year's Eve. It is estimated so far that about a thousand structures have been destroyed, including a Tesla plant, but a large proportion of them homes. Three people are reported missing, but it appears that most evacuated on time. Considering the speed of this event, one fire chief called it miraculous. There were thousands of people running for their lives out of homes, stores, restaurants and workplaces, then making their way in high winds and thick smoke to their cars and onto highways. Colorado has had very little precipitation in 2021 and no winter snow until this New Year's morning. This is a result of the severe drought suffered by most of the American west and a fire of this magnitude is unheard of in winter. 



Fire area CO.kmz (1.12 KB)

Thanks for report Diane!

Sorry not hearing good news from the USA for a while...! (Trump-off could be an exception.) 

And that much fire cases!... 

I finally heard from an old friend who lives near Boulder. He and his family are safe, but the fire was very close and they had to evacuate within minutes. Terribly stressful!