At least four wildfires on Colorado’s populous Front Range have caused thousands of people to evacuate and one death. None of the fires are under control and conditions are ripe for more to start.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It has been a nerve-racking week for people on Colorado’s Front Range west of Denver. There are now four wildfires sending up scary looking smoke plumes. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. More than two dozen structures have gone up in flames, and one person has died. As of now, most of the fires are uncontrolled, and conditions are ripe for more to start. Scott Franz has been watching all of this unfold. He’s with member station KUNC and joins us now. Hi, Scott.
SCOTT FRANZ, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so the first and biggest of these fires started on Monday, right? Like, can you give us a sense of where these fires are exactly?
FRANZ: Sure. All the fires are north or southwest of Denver in the foothills, where the plains sweep up suddenly and the Rocky Mountains begin. They’re burning about 10,000 acres in total in steep mountain terrain away from major cities, including Boulder and Loveland, but there’s still several homes nearby.
So far, about 30 structures have been burned. Some of those are houses that have been lost, unfortunately. Hundreds of people remain evacuated at this time, and other neighborhoods are on edge on preevacuation status. Things are still shaky here, and lots of folks are on edge.
CHANG: Oh, I’m sure. I mean, how concerned are people that more of these fires could break out?
FRANZ: They’re very concerned, Ailsa. We had the first fire start on Monday, two more ignited Tuesday, and then a fourth outside Boulder yesterday afternoon. It’s been very hot and dry here, with temperatures in the 90s, even approaching 100 degrees and no rain for days.
CHANG: Any word yet from officials on how these fires started?
FRANZ: We still don’t have an official cause for any of the fires. They’re all still under investigation. But authorities believe at least one of them was human-caused.
CHANG: OK. Well, we mentioned most of these fires are uncontrolled. How many firefighters – or how have firefighters been doing to get more of these contained?
FRANZ: Well, they’ve made some progress on some – overnight on two of the fires. But others continue to grow with little containment. You know, there’s a heavy aerial presence – helicopters, air tankers flying constantly. And actually, this afternoon, more communities southwest of Denver were told to get ready to possibly evacuate as the fire near them crept closer. But all evacuation orders have now been lifted for some of the smallest of the fires, which is good news.
CHANG: Yeah, that is good news. Well, what are the biggest challenges facing firefighters right now?
FRANZ: Right now, it’s the weather and having enough fire crews and equipment. You know, they’re facing hotter than usual conditions, really taxing terrain. We actually had four firefighters who are working to protect homes yesterday come down with heat exhaustion on the frontlines. And unfortunately, no real weather relief is expected until tomorrow. Then there’s the ongoing challenge of fighting four major fires simultaneously. Stan Hilkey is our top firefighting official in the state.
STAN HILKEY: As this fire goes on, it will go on for weeks, maybe a matter of months, and we’re in it for the long haul.
FRANZ: Yesterday, Governor Jared Polis called out some National Guard troops to help out with non-firefighting jobs. And today, a federal team came in to manage two of the fires, but we’re being told that, nationwide, there’s a ton of demand for these federal firefighting resources.
CHANG: Yeah, absolutely. Well, what have you been hearing from people who’ve been forced to leave their homes?
FRANZ: Yeah. I spent the day in Loveland yesterday, at an evacuation shelter, and there’s lots of anxiety and stress here on the ground. I talked to an evacuee who was worried about the fate of her Airbnb rental and her husband’s art studio. She’s hopeful, but kind of a mix of resolve and stress and just waiting and wondering right now.
CHANG: That is Scott Franz of member station KUNC. Thank you, Scott.
FRANZ: My pleasure.
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