Wildfire in Four Mile Canyon!! 119 closed

Fire broke out at 11 am in Four Mile canyon North/West of Boulder.. Hwy 119 to Nederland is closed.. The smoke is sooo bad it has made the sky in Lafayette brown and it looks like dusk here... Hope everyone is OK in Goldhill and Four Mile....

yep a bummer for sure. I was watching TV coverage on Ch 20, and they are indicating two other fires as well - one in the town of eldora and one on magnolia, but they were not confrmed.

take care.

Edit: the FD spokesperson just indicated that the other referenced fires were structure fires which are fully contained.

A crowdsourced map of the area.

I took a ride out that way and snapped a few pictures. I was on the Switzerland Trail West of Sugarloaf Mountain around noon. There were really high winds that were pushing the fire eastward. When I headed back to Boulder on Magnolia at about 2 the fire was spreading to the east of Sugarloaf Mountain. It looked pretty fierce at that point. It's a real bummer, because there were a bunch of houses back there that we watched burn down.


Looking west from Boulder


Looking east from the Switzerland Trail south west of Sugarloaf Mountain


Adding the bike for perspective. A massive plume.


Returning to Boulder on Magnolia Drive. Looking north at Sugarloaf Mountain.

There was a large emergency crew on site, so hopefully no one was hurt. It's really dry in Colorado, so everyone heading to the mountains should take care.

I rode near Eldora and on Magnolia and didn't see any visible signs of fire from the road, so let's hope they are unaffected. I'm definitely worried about all of the families that have lost their homes. I can't even imagine how that would feel.

Bummer, hope they are ok.
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Not only that but I was planning on doing that ride tomorrow.
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Any idea when it will reopen?
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I just came from Nederland to Boulder. Had to take Magnolia road. I am not certain they will let me go back up that way. You can see the fire real well from the top of the paved section of Magnolia. It is big. Hope the slurry bombers can get it under control now that the wind has let up.

Ron

I do a little wildland for Jeffco but I don't get to go to Boulder county much. I got a call from a ham radio guy I know in Boulder who wanted another set of eyes up high so I went up Flagstaff to a spot I know to have a look at the fire.



This was not trees but a out building. Black smoke is fuel.....




Some folks who live in Four Mile Canyon watching the fire get closer to their homes.


Smoke over Boulder from Flagstaff House.


Went down into town to check out and this crew was ready to roll.


The Pike Hotshots are in town. These guy do nothing but wildland fires.


This is from Canyon Blvd right by the cop shop.


Yes I rode the GS to a fire. This is from 93 on the way home.

Hope all our fellow riders' places and peeps are ok.

Dayum.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=151618&catid=339


BOULDER - Several homes have been destroyed by a fast-moving fire in a canyon west of Boulder, but it is unclear how many. The fire is being driven by winds and had grown to 3,500 acres by Monday night and 1,000 homes were evacuated.

The fire began around 10 a.m. on Fourmile Canyon Road near Emerson Gulch, according to Boulder County Emergency Management. It is not clear how it started. It is being called the Fourmile Canyon Fire.

Laura McConnell with the Boulder County Incident Management Team said "multiple and/or dozens" of homes were lost to the fire. She said four of the structures lost belonged to firefighters who were battling the blaze. They were taken off the line when their homes were lost.
Many of the structures that were lost were in the Sunshine and Four Mile Canyon areas.

"It sounded like a raging river just getting louder and louder," David Mann, a person who was recreating in the area and had to evacuate, said. "We just turned and ran and started yelling to get out of there."

As he left the area, Tom Hammond, a resident, had to face the helpless truth.

"Whichever way the wind blows, it's gonna blow toward the houses," Hammond said.

"I started hearing the roar of the fire and it was like a tornado roar. So when you start hearing that, you know that you've got a serious wildfire," Linda Tarr, an evacuee, said. "So devastating was to hear those houses burn. To hear the popping, maybe propane tanks? It was like gunfire. I don't know what that was, but there were explosions also. But the wood burning - I've never heard a house fire, but now I have."

Mann says it was very scary.

"Just: 'Get the hell out of here. 'Why am I here? My wife's gonna kill me,'" Mann said.

Cmdr. Rick Brough with Boulder County Emergency Management says a fire truck was also consumed by the flames.

There are no reports of any injuries from the fire and fire crews would not even discuss containment or control on Monday night.

The fire is moving northeast toward Highway 36 and also growing to the west.

The number of homes evacuated soared to 1,000 by Monday night. The evacuations started in the Gold Hill area and then spread.

The general boundaries of the evacuation areas are the Peak to Peak Highway to the west, Left Hand Canyon to the north, Highway 36 to the east and Boulder Canyon to the south. The Sugarloaf area was being evacuated on Monday night.

No people are being allowed back into any of the areas that have been evacuated.

The Boulder County Office of Emergency Management says the emergency alert notification system was not working properly and residents in the area should not wait for alerts to evacuate.

Before the problems, About 2,500 messages were sent to residents in the area, telling them they have to evacuate or they should be prepared to leave.

The only remaining evacuation center that is open is at the Coors Event Center on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder. The North Boulder Recreation Center, the Nederland Community Center and New Vista High School are no longer open. There were less than a dozen evacuees at the Coors Event Center late Monday night. The Boulder County Fairgrounds is set up to accept large animals that were evacuated and the Longmont Humane Society is also taking in some animals. Longmont is asking for help with some food for dogs and cats.

Many of the evacuated residents were staying at the Holiday Inn Express at Broadway and Lee Hill Drive because they were allowed to take their pets there. The hotel waived its pet fees for the evacuees.

Boulder Valley School District's mountain schools will be closed Tuesday due to the fires and road closures. That includes mountain schools in Jamestown, Gold Hill and Nederland elementary schools, as well as Nederland Middle/Senior High School. BVSD mountain school bus routes including those to the Boulder schools will not drive to or from the mountains on Tuesday. More information is on http://bvsd.org.

Authorities say it has been a struggle to transport water up to the area.

Because the fire has moved so fast, authorities say it was hard for firefighters to get ahead of the fire and create breaks. About 100 firefighters are in the field battling the fire and another 50 to 75 are on standby. They are working in rugged and steep terrain and are trying to protect structures. They are clearing out about 30 yards around any structures to try and keep the flames away from them.

Firefighters were staying overnight to fight the fire and keep it away from homes.

By Tuesday morning, it is hoped that seven tankers will be used to fight the fire. Crews were able to use three on Monday evening. They had to wait until after 5 p.m. to take off because of high winds in the area.

Power has been cut to some communities in the area while crews fight the fire. There is also a 10-mile flight restriction around the fire area because of the air tankers that need to get through.

Both directions of Highway 119 are closed from Boulder to Nederland due to the wildfire. Fourmile Canyon Road and Sunshine Canyon are also closed. Many roads in the area are shut down due to the fire.

A total of 35 different agencies have responded to the fire. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is also asking state and federal authorities for help.

The smoke from the fire is easily visible from Denver and people in Boulder say ash has fallen on their homes.

Earlier on Monday, winds were from the north-northwest at 15 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph, according to the 9NEWS Weather Team.

There were reports of two other smaller structure fires, one of them in Eldora, but those fires were contained.

For more information, the Boulder Office of Emergency Management is updating its website: http://boulderoem.com/.

Many, many houses lost. Gold Hill, Sugarloaf, Logan Mill, Sunshine, Wall Street & many other areas. 4,000 acres and growing.

Looks like my Sister likely lost her home near Logan Mill rd.

My first mountain home, a place I built years ago then sold to friends near Gold Hill is gone.

Many friends and previous neighbors of mine have lost their homes as well.

Fortunately, I have heard of no human casualties so far.

Very sad

Sorry to hear about the loss Paul. I hope they can get some containment on it today.

I ride the Gold Hill/Switzerland Trail area a lot. How about the main street area of Gold Hill. Any structures lost there?

Very Tragic!

Taz

that is to bad that it is so close to homes and that so many have been lost. i hope they get it under control very soon.

So three of my friends lost homes.. No loss of human or animal life for them, but they are in a shelter this morning.. Last night the meaning of a blood red sky. At one point the sun was completely blocked by the smoke. Looks better this morning. They are opening boulder canyon.

Me, gf, and the pooch were just out for a drive. Ended up going up flagstaff out of boulder to gross res, coal creek, Ned, down Jamestown to Lefthand. Very sorry for all those that lost their homes. As someone said, hard to even imagine.

Jamestown mid afternoon



View from Longmont at dusk

In a big fire like this, crews quickly pick areas and structures that they have a shot of protecting, and choose not to try and protect structures that have lower potential for saving and higher risk for the firefighters.

Gold Hill main street definitely had efforts to protect, and I think the general store, the inn, the school, and most of the historic structures on main street were saved so far.

The dozens of more isolated homes on the myriad of small mountain roads in the area, not so much.

Like my place ?

If they had mandatory evacuations here in Golden Gate Canyon I would not leave. They would have to disarm me, cuff me and drag me out first. Most homes lost to wilfires are unattended in evacuated areas. Adequate defensible space, nonflammable exteriors, no attic vents and a water source with hose and pump go a long way towards saving a house in a wildfire.

I feel very bad for those that lost homes. Most certainly I know a few.

Steve,

While I agree that in a smaller wildland fire, a homeowner who doesn't evacuate might be able to actually save his/her home, it's simply not the case with this fire. Huge fire face, super intense heat, moved extremely fast. It took what it wanted.

If there weren't forced evac's on this fire, the zero human casualty statistic would likely not be the case.

Not me. I live in the mountains and I'm gone first chance. It is just a friggin house, not worth any risk of life or injury to me or my family. Plus, I'd rather not be the guy getting in the way of the folks already risking their life to protect what can be protected.

But you built your home and have more of an emotional attachment to it. I'm not sure my attitude would be the same if I built my home myself.

I feel sick for the folks who lost their homes and have had to evacuate.

I just hope no one gets serously hurt in this one. 3 lives were lost fighting the fire near my place(big elk fire) years ago. Man made structures can be rebuilt, those lives are irreplaceable.