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Residents were ordered to evacuate Monday evening as crews responded to a wildfire that sparked west of Boulder amid red-flag conditions.
The fire, initially reported as one to two acres, grew to about three acres, according to Boulder County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Vinnie Montez.
As of about 9 p.m., the fire, which was reported around 5:30 p.m. in the 700 block of Wild Turkey Trail in Fourmile Canyon, had stopped spreading forward and crews were in the mop-up phase, according to Fire Duty Officer Seth McKinney.
Winds remain a concern, McKinney said, and fire crews remained on scene, attacking hot spots and strengthening the containment line. Evacuation orders remain in place.
No structures had been lost as of about 8 p.m., according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Carrie Haverfield.
Residents who live in the areas along Four Mile Canyon Drive southeast of Gold Run Road near Crisman were ordered to use Evening Star Road to evacuate, according to a Boulder County Everbridge alert. Residents should avoid Wild Turkey Trail, the alert said.
An evacuation warning that was issued for residents along Four Mile Canyon Drive northwest of Boulder Canyon Drive, including the Seven Hills area and parts of Switzerland Trail and Sunshine Canyon Drive, was lifted around 9:45 p.m., according to Boulder County Sheriff’s Office maps of the evacuation areas.
Before the evacuation warning was lifted, there were about 662 people and 449 structures in the areas under evacuation order and evacuation warning, according to Montez. It’s not clear how many people and structures are in the evacution order area.
The east lot of the Boulder County Justice Center at 1777 6th St. was open to evacuees who needed a place to park. The west lot was being used to stage first responders.
Others should avoid the area so first responders can respond up the narrow canyon, Montez said in a video post to social media.
The sheriff’s office did not have information about the cause of the fire.
Much of Boulder County was under a Red Flag Warning until 5 p.m. on Monday amid unseasonably high temperatures, low humidity and wind, according to the National Weather Service. The warning came only three days after a windstorm brought 100-plus mph winds to the county.
Monday night’s blaze was not the first wildfire the area has seen. In September 2010, the Fourmile Canyon Fire burned about 5,700 acres and destroyed 162 homes.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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