Evacuations in place for #SunshineFire – evac point is currently Boulder High. Please avoid Wonderland Lake – being used for water refill
Emergency responders are beginning to make some headway on containing a fire in Sunshine Canyon that loomed menacingly over the Boulder, Colorado horizon. The fire started around 2:30 a.m., from an unknown cause, and had covered 62 acres, spurring evacuations of 1,000 nearby homes and setting more than 4,000 other homes on a “pre-evacuation” notice. Early estimates put the fire at 106 acres, but the Boulder Office of Emergency Management later downsized the estimate to 62, stating that a mapping miscalculation caused the earlier, higher number. The fire is currently at 20 percent containment, at the time of publication. (See photos of the fire here.)
Below are more videos from the scene. At least eight aircraft have been sent to help battle the fire and keep it from moving south to downtown Boulder.
Scenes from the Fire
First, scenes from the fire:
#SunshineFire from the sky this a.m. 1,031 homes evacuated. 62 acres burned with multiple crews working #9news t.co/3mbZSoU2T6
A video from 8:24 a.m. at Settler’s Park:
From Settler’s Park #SunshineFire 8:24a
Boulder with the Fire Looming over the Horizon
Here’s downtown Boulder, where you can see the smoke from the fire in the background:
Another video showing the fire looming in the background of Boulder, Colorado:
#BoulderFire looking very smokey & now winds are shifting and picking up. Luckily slurry bombers are about begin operations . #SunshineFire
The winds picking up about three hours ago, with the smoke still visible:
You can hear the wind picking up. The smoke, still very visible from where we are. Air quality an obvious issue. #SunshineFire #Denver7
A view from Pearl Street Mall:
View from Pearl Street Mall #SunshineFire #Boulder
And a view from Stearns towers:
#SunshineFire seen from Stearns towers. #boulder #boulderfire #cofire @BoulderOEM @dailycamera
Air Support for Fire Containment
Here’s a video of air support for the fire containment:
Air support for the #SunshineFire
Here you can see a slurry bomb released in the background as children play:
Holy slurry bomb. #SunshineFire
And here, a Chinook helicopter carries water to fight the Boulder fire:
Crowds gathered to watch the slurry drop:
Crowd growing along Mapleton. Aircraft dropping flame retardant on #SunshineFire Neighbors monitoring activity since 1:40a. #Denver7