Boulder shrouded in smog as mountain Fourmile Fire still burns

BOULDER– Roughly 1000 homes in the mountains above Boulder have been evacuated as a Labor Day blaze continues to burn. What is being called the Fourmile Fire reportedly started in Emerson Gulch before strong winds Monday whipped the flames to 40 feet and higher, driving residents to shelters in Boulder and Nederland, torching residences and sending a vast white-orange-gray plume across a deep blue and otherwise cloudless Front Range holiday sky. So far, no injuries have been reported.

Thousands of evacuees are staying on the campus of Colorado University and at recreation centers in Boulder and Nederland. As the fire continues to burn Tuesday, Boulder is shrouded in haze. Some residents are heading to work and school this morning wearing white masks against the smog. A Press conference is scheduled here for 9 a.m.

From Highway 36 Labor Day just south of Boulder:

The Daily Camera reports:

The Sheriff’s Office has requested state and federal assistance, and a half-dozen air tankers are expected to help crews subdue the blaze.

“It could be several days, definitely not overnight,” Brough said.

Brough would not confirm reports that a car sparked the fire when it hit a propane tank, saying only that an investigation would occur after the flames have been “somewhat contained.”

Details on the burn area were not available, but no injuries had been reported, Brough said. He did confirm that a fire truck was lost in the blaze.

The Camera also posted video and quotes from Mountain residents.

[Images: John Tomasic TCI ]

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