Boulder warns of possible spread of fire into city

9/09/2010 03:10:19 PM

BOULDER, Colo. – Neighborhoods once filled with million-dollar homes and scenic mountain cabins have become piles of smoking rubble. On one lot, all that survived was a tennis court. On others, all that's left are crumbling, ash-covered foundations.

They were among the nearly 170 homes destroyed by a Colorado wildfire that showed no signs of relenting Thursday as wind gusts of up to 60 mph threatened to send the flames into the heart of Boulder.

Authorities told residents on the west side of Boulder to be prepared to evacuate if the wildfire moves into town, urging people to remove lawn furniture, brush and propane tanks that could fuel the fire. The city is also mowing grass in open spaces to cut down on potential fuel, and telling residents to do the same.

"The wind event tonight, we could be off to the races," said Rob Bozeman, field observer with the Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District.

Boulder is a city of about 100,000 people that is home to the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal laboratory best known for running the atomic clock that's used to maintain the official U.S. time. Employees there were allowed to leave work if they needed to go home to prepare of a possible evacuation, said spokesman James Burrus.

Authorities said the biggest fire danger exists on the north side of Broadway, the main drag in Boulder. The federal lab is located on Broadway, and the edge of the campus is on the eastern side. Many sorority and fraternity houses are on the western side of the road.

"This is absolutely a precaution. But it's an active fire. High winds are expected," said emergency management team spokesman Dan Rowland.

The frantic preparations in Boulder show the ferocity of the wildfire since it broke out Monday and spread to a 10-square-mile area. It has since become one of the most destructive fires in Colorado, destroying more homes than any other blaze in state history.

About 3,500 people have been out of their homes for four days, and some residents have been frustrated with a lack of information about what was happening behind fire lines or because they couldn't do more to help. Some have gotten around roadblocks by hiking and biking in to check on their homes, and an unknown number of people who got back into homes decided to stay and hunker down.

Sheriff's Cmdr. Rick Brough said one person caught sneaking in was led away in handcuffs.

Authorities are investigating whether a vehicle crashing into a propane tank started the fire. A recording of a 911 call and other communications released by the sheriff's office chronicles reports of flames after the collision jumping to trees in the fire area.

In steep canyons about five miles west of Boulder, firefighters were trying to secure fire lines. But the powerful wind gusts in the forecast could spread the fire beyond the 20-mile-long perimeter.

Houses in the area range from million-dollar sprawling homes with tennis courts and swimming pools to more modest ranch-style homes with wooden decks, some of which survived another fire in 1989. Homes are nestled on ridges and steep mountains, with winding roads leading to some of the homes.

All seem to share a love of the outdoors, with several willing to hike or mountain bike miles past road blocks to check on their homes. Others stayed behind to fight the fire on their own, including one man who used his tractor to scoop up flames and save the children's summer camp his family operates.

The area also includes the historic town of Gold Hill, home to an Old West grocery store and structures once used for stagecoach stops. Crews managed to spare it from the fire.

Nine people had been reported missing in the fire zone but Brough said they all have been accounted for.

The reported loss of homes surpasses that of the 2002 Hayman fire in southern Colorado that was the most destructive in the state's history. That fire destroyed 133 homes and 466 outbuildings on 138,000 acres of more sparsely populated area that includes national forest land.

Fire managers said as many 700 firefighters and support personnel and seven air tankers were assigned to fight the fire, considered the nation's top firefighting priority.

It's a busy end to a relatively quiet fire season. Nationwide, about 2.6 million acres have burned this summer, about 50 percent less than the 10 year average, said Ken Frederick, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.