The fire, also known by the name of NCAR fire at its peak, resulted in the evacuation of 19,000 residents in the vicinity of Boulder. The authorities said the blaze did not cause any injury nor structures were damaged.
A fire close to Boulder, Colo., which had destroyed more than 190 acres by Sunday morning, prompted authorities to move 19,000 people during the weekend, according to officials. Nearly 700 homes remained within an evacuation zone as of Sunday.
The wildfire that was fueled by wind, and was known as the NCAR fire due to its origins close to the National Center for Atmospheric Research It was 21 percent contained as the authorities announced during a news conference Sunday. There were no injuries or damages confirmed.
Around 200 firefighters were flying as well as on ground, trying to keep the flame away from the surrounding areas.
“We’re going to continue to try and corral this fire up into the rocks, into the snow, which is really one of our big holding features right now, and one of the reasons that we’re having really, again, good success,” Michael Smith, the incident commander for Boulder County, said on Sunday.
The reason for the fire that started around 2.30 p.m. at local time Saturday, is not clear. Investigators have identified the area of origin close to Bear Creek Canyon on Sunday authorities said.
The authorities ordered evacuations to Table Mesa, on the eastern edge of the South Boulder neighborhood, and Eldorado Springs, said Marya Washburn, a spokeswoman of Boulder Fire-Rescue.
The wildfire was at its peak this weekend, an evacuation notice affected nearly 19,000 people in an area that included the homes of 8,000 and 7,000 according to authorities.
Officials slowed evacuations down after 11. p.m. in the evening of Saturday night, allowing thousands of residents to return home.
The NCAR fire was triggered after another fire, also known as Marshall fire. Marshall fire, destroyed suburbs in the area between Denver as well as Boulder in December. The blaze caused the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. The raging fire destroyed around 1,000 houses.
In the Marshall fire the firefighters were unable fly because of the high winds that caused their aircraft to be grounded. On Sunday and Saturday, however Ms. Smith said that lower winds allowed the aircraft to battle the flames.
He expressed his concern about the approaching fire season. “I think this is just a sign of the way things are going to go,” he stated.
The number of wildfires has increased in size and intensity across areas of the Western United States, and fire seasons are getting longer. Recent research suggests that dryness and heat that are that are a result of global warming are the primary causes of the increase in larger and more intense fires.
