Wind-driven wildfire burns hundreds of homes near Boulder, Colorado

81 thoughts on “Wind-driven wildfire burns hundreds of homes near Boulder, Colorado”

1. Well, it’s better than your previous comments. But you don’t know how long I have lived here, nor I you. But who cares. Reality is reality. One of us was trying to police the conversation and it was not I. You can have your say, and you have; so can I. It was you that wanted to say some topics were inappropriate. It was I that wanted to say that trying to squelch valid aspects of the conversation such as climate change was inappropriate. Debates are not stupid. It may seem cruel to you, but that’s not the motivation. It is also cruel to see problems like climate change unfolding and be told not to call a spade a spade. It’s a spade.

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   1. I am 55 and have lived here since I was born in Cheyenne. You said in the comment above my last one that you have been here 20+ years. I lived here for the first “once in a century” Thompson Canyon Flood, we lost friends in that flood. I lived here for the second “once in a century” Thompson Canyon Flood and it flooded out my son’s house.
      These grass fires have happened for as long as I can remember. The only difference is now they are issuing buildings permits to big companies who have no idea about our terrain. If they did Boulder wouldn’t have come so close to burning down years ago.
      My point in all of this is we need planners who care about our environment but also recognize that we need affordable housing throughout the metro area. These planners need to work with ranger and fire departments to keeping this from happening again.

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      1. Your earlier point (if you can call it that) was that climate change is off the table for discussion and my response had to do with that climate change is absolutely on the table and that your injunction that ‘we are losing our homes and our lives’ etcetera leading to climate change being undiscussable are ill advised. Ok, you got me, I was not actually living here for the Big Thompson Flood. What does it matter again? Some attempt to claim seniority? For what it’s worth, people I knew experienced the Big Thompson Flood. By the way, what did you actually lose in the Marshall fire again? Clearly not your life or your home, and pretty clear not even anyone you knew directly. But apparently you want to take credit for your terrible suffering anyway. I didn’t suffer in the Marshall fire, I’m not pretending I did either. We are all experiencing the effects of climate change.

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2. Thanks. In the moment you said it best. Snarkiness is not appropriate. I live north of the devastating fire first noticed around 1:30 PM. Depending on wind direction is only reason I still have a home this morning. Next time maybe not so lucky. It is a common occurrence to have smoke on the landscape visible this fall. While not in the forests we have been removing some trees from our suburban lot and thinking about how we can mitigate. Landscaping planned years ago seems inappropriate in light of what is happening now, and that is sad, because it is a beautiful neighborhood and area

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   1. Wildfire ‘mitigation’ explicitly means cutting down and controlling nature to perpetuate unsustainable human growth and preservation. It is a sick and outdated concept. When you and Boulder county get to the point of sacrificing the beauty around you to save yourselves… you’ve already identified ‘yourselves’ as the problem.

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      1. Kiss off. We have lost homes and lives. We don’t need your self righteousness. You will leave a footprint wherever you go, will you kill yourself so you don’t. I am sick of these stupid fights. Take them elsewhere.

         Sherry, forget the fool above me. We have lost so much that voice doesn’t matter.

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         1. I see no reason to label Giles’ comment in this way: His viewpoint is a valid piece of the conversation, as are most of the others you seem to feel the same way about. You are the one that seems to be unhinged. If it is true that you actually live here and especially if you yourself are directly impacted then your being upset is understandable, even though it doesn’t make your attempts to police the discussion valid. If not, then it is you that can ‘kiss off’. By the way, I myself do live on the front range, in the path of one of the fires on U.S. 36 the same day, that fortunately for us were put out quickly, and got an evacuation call in last year’s similar fast moving grass fire that came down the same trajectory, and during the 20+ years I have been living here, have had several similar experiences, including at least one other evacuation call about 10 years ago, for a fast moving grass fire less than a mile off. Fortunately for us, our number has not yet come up, but there have been several times it could have, and we are very appreciative of the emergency workers that put fires out. That does not alter at all that proper consideration of everything from population density, housing codes, grassland and open space maintenance, and, yes, absolutely, climate change are completely valid to discuss. I don’t think you are really worth responding to any more if you can’t do anything better than attempt to control what is and is not valid to discuss, so let this stand as a response to your above comments as well as to anything else you may wish to add that is of a nature similar to what you have already said. I’m done with it.

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            1. I grew up here and am 55 years old. I have every right to speak my mind. My family are ranchers, so, yes, I understand nature and what fire can do.
               In a few months that area
               should be green and beautiful again. What won’t be are all the basements left standing.
               I’m so sick of the environmental lectures that happens when so many of us have been impacted. Now it’s population control.
               I will never live in a high rise and I am not a fan of all the houses that are being built right next to I-25 BUT people come first. They need affordable places to live. Granted Superior issn’t cheap but it was better than Boulder. Not everyone loves Boulder.
               Our politicians and planners have made serious mistakes on where they are allowing building to happen. One example is where DIA is. They picked the absolutely worst weather area in Colorado. High winds year round and terrible storms.
               Superior was built in a similar area. They are now planning on building on the worst parts of 93. It’s sheer stupidity but it’s not the buyers fault. Many are from out of state and have no idea we get 90mph winds there all the time. Add Rocky Flats and its toxic waste that is buried there and we have a lawsuits in the future for allowing building there.
               You are not the comment police either I will say whatever I please. This has been my home a lot longer than yours and when I have family and friends losing their homes it’s cruel to read such stupid debates. This wasn’t the time or place.

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3. My grandson lives in Nederland, I can’t get in touch with him. If anyone knows how Nederland is doing, PLEASE let me know.

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   1. They just don’t have services. None of the fires went that direction that our news has reported. Many places lost electricity due to the high winds and now they’ve had to shut down water, gas and electricity. It’s snowing so the hotspots should be put out soon. I’m sorry you haven’t heard from him yet but I’m sure he’s fine. (((Hugs))) I pray you hear soon

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4. A perspective from a 6yo.

   “All those kids are probably sad because they lost all the presents Santa brought them, I want to give them some of my presents.

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5. I watched this unfold last night. And as ive read more comments last night and this morning i would only like to add this. The people of colorado are strong and resilient, they are caring and giving. Im sure that those who have lost homes will find much support from freinds, neighbors and the people of colorado as they undertake the hard job of clean up, and rebuilding. My family and i are praying for all of you to have the strength to see you through this trying time. Be nice to eachother, help eachother.

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6. The comments are sickening. All the bickering while we wait to see if our family still has a home.

   I love my kids. For those of you who blame this on the need for population control or climate change please fight somewhere else.
   Some of us need real information.

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7. Tragic for those folks. But grass fires and structure loss are common throughout the southern plains – OK, KS, NM, TX, and CO. Not the “fault” of grass or management. Structures are ignitable. Period. Modern humans have come to expect that they have no responsibility in they way they live – just buy a house in any neighborhood, better if its backed up to open space for recreation, and pay little mind to natural processes, whether fire, flood, or wind. All’s good until it’s not.

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8. Most of the above?

   That is,

   Loss of life, loss of homes and businesses: tragic.

   Grass: flammable;
   also, grass is a part of the ecosystem here, it stabilizes soil (anyone remember
   the dust bowl?), provides habitat, it’s been here longer than we have.

   Houses, hotels, stores: flammable.

   Wind: Frequent here and also not infrequently indirectly ignites fires as well as spreads them.

   Asphalt, concrete, sand dunes: not flammable also not suitable for life, apart from a few highly
   specialized organisms (not us!).

   Climate change: It’s a planetary human caused phenomenon and it is affecting everything everywhere on the planet. It’s absolutely connected to events like this one through, for us, primarily drought and heat, more extreme
   weather (which includes more windstorms), but also the 2013 flood.

   Unfortunately the message from the planet is something like:

   Dear Humanity,
   Thank you so much for your stay on the planet. Checkout time is 11 a.m.;
   Payment in full at time of checkout. Please come visit us again sometime
   soon!
   Sincerely, Earth

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9. Hey guys, when y’all post a comment, remember people are losing their homes and some are losing friends and family. So, please be respectful. Thanks!

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10. For all of the arguments about fuel loads and wind, the NREL’s Flatirons Campus, home of the National Wind Technology Center is off of Highway 93 a few miles due South of Marshall Lake. It is there for a reason. This area is subject to high winds frequently. I spent my entire childhood in the area, mostly in Broomfield, just across 287 from the burning area. My father still lives there, he hasn’t been told to evacuate, but he is ready. When we lived in Boulder, a neighbor’s house lost their roof to wind. Wind and the threats it brings are a known fact of life in the area. Let us all consider the potential for ongoing loss of life and homes and please stop bickering until the fires are out. Please.

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    1. Thank you Brian. I have family there, one brother is 3/4-mi from Louisville, he evacuated tho it wasn’t required, yet, to a friends N of Boulder. Every family member knows of someone who’s had to either evacuate or has list a fence or tree in their yard. As my brother says, “it feels odd being helpless to do anything to help.” Fire is devastating. Many are feeling it tonight and will tomorrow when they’re less in shock for having lost a home or business today.

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    2. I used to own a home up there across from El Dorado K8, facing the road. winds would batter the house so bad it would rumble and vibrate. Not a good place for a stick house, IMO.

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11. We should be praying for the people that have been affected by this “force of nature” instead of trying to understand why or how things like this happen. It is beyond human understanding, only God knows. Maybe we can take all the energy used in these comments and come up with a solution for what we can do to help one another in tragedies like this.

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    1. Linda, there’s nothing supernatural about a fire. It starts, it burns. There’s been a massive change in our climate and if we don’t spend time on solutions we’re doomed and there’s no ghost in heaven to step in.

       If you want to pray, have at it but it means you’ll be doing little else. Christians who wear their Jeebusism on their sleeve and declare their prayers the loudest do the least. That’s not me saying it, that’s Pew and other sound polling organizations. At least Superior is relatively unscathed by churches. And McDonald’s. And walmart.

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12. Seems to me that fire didn’t really care whether it hit a neglected open field or a well-maintained golf course.

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    1. It didn’t. Open space grasses and golf course grass are dead and available to burn, along with houses and wooden fences.

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       1. Except when there’s a desperate attempt to make golf courses look like those from their native Scotland. Unfortunately golf courses aren’t planted with local grasses but it doesn’t sound like they did anything to slow the fire.

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    2. Cathy, ‘neglected open fields’ are commonly referred to as ‘nature’. And in these ‘neglected open fields’ all lifeforms respect a sustainable natural order. But, I’m with you, Cathy… God forbid a wildfire scorch someones putting green, where no one respects the natural order.

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13. Housing developments are every bit a fuel type as is grass, brush or timber.

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    1. Correct, and are not modeled in the world of fire behavior calculations!!!!! Massive Fuel Beds!!!!

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14. Hooray for Natalie Fuller. Her common sense and fact based reply are a breath of fresh air in a bleak series of idiot responses. It’s good to know that intelligence hasn’t totally left Colorado. Sending positive wishes and hopes for the best to all of you facing a life changing catastrophe.

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    1. Yep, hooray for Natalie… let’s keep procreating and building more communities… and, when we all die in our fire-storms of denial, may we all burn in hell for what we’ve done to this earth.

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       1. You’re ridiculous.

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          1. Yep, and logic and reason make up the flimsy reed that the masses still cling to, in hopes of explaining the chaos… Mother Earth has a wicked left hook, don’t you think? And the best part of human suffering is how richly it is deserved.

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15. Actually, cows graze on those Marshall Mesa grasslands. That is part of Boulder’s OSMP’s land use plan, and little if any of that land is suitable for making hay – generally too steep, uneven, and most of all just poor soil and dry land. On the other hand, this is not a situation of subdivisions or individual houses infiltrating the woods in the foothills or, as around Estes Park, the mountains themselves. Louisville and Superior are basically out on the plains.

    Walt Fricke

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    1. The comments by Scott Heaps seem to disregard how intensively managed this open space is.
       It also seems like people are quick to blame the wildland fuels first, while neglecting to address the urban fuels actually surrounding homes.

       https://bouldercolorado.gov/news/city-provide-updates-about-open-space-prairie-dog-management

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16. Scott, i’m a former wildland firefighter, park ranger, and resident of Estes Park. The open spaces you’re referring to in Boulder County aren’t actually providing that much fuel for these fires. The culprits are two-fold: 1. winds- all mountain ranges experience daily adiabatic winds. These winds flow up the mountain in the morning, and down the mountain at night. The adiabatic winds along the Front Range are EXTREMELY STRONG, and have been known to blow apart houses under construction in Estes Park that are not yet enclosed. Boulder and Denver often experience damaging winds, although these winds are dramatic, they’re not unprecedented. 2. urbanization- here is the true culprit. Housing developments are creeping ever further up the mountain sides along the Front Range, which impacts wildlife, the viewshed, and ultimately the safety of the residents. Things to consider: how close are mature trees to your home? How close are adjacent structures to your own? How far up the mountain are you located? What fuels might exist around your home that could be abated- i.e. pine needles, downed limbs, etc. Many factors drive fire, as many residents of California can tell you for certain. Our goal should be to avoid the housing development mistakes that the aforementioned state has suffered the ultimate consequences of.

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    1. Sorry, these are from a strong pressure gradient ahead of a very strong cold front. Different type of wind vs. what you are speaking of. Additionally, 3-4 foot high dead grass in open space has played a major role in the spread of this fire. If you were a Wildland Firefighter, then you should know the components of the fire behavior triangle. Fuels, Weather and Topography. The diurnal wind flow that you were trying to explain was not a player in this event.

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       1. How much continuous “three foot high” grass is within that 1200 acres? I have hiked those areas and there may be three foot high seedheads but not continuous three foot high grass. While there are some tall grass species present in bottoms, this is not tall grass prairie. Three foot high grass would nearly cover a four foot high barbed wire fence. There are also Prairie Dog towns in the area. Maybe we need more of those for fuel breaks?

          The grass fueled aspect of the fire does not explain the scenes of property destruction and descriptions of fire that occurred across a major road that most people would describe as a sufficient fuel break in more normal times.

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          1. Fuel breaks are not a consideration when a grass fire starts near neighborhoods in a typical Front Range wind event. Backyard lawns, houses, fencing are all part of the fuel bed in this example. Spotting across fuel breaks that you speak of was easy based on the fuel loading in the grasses.

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          2. That’s great Don, let’s grant Prairie Dogs habitat, only if it serves as fire breaks for human interest.
             Nature is just another pawn to save us from ourselves? Is that your plan, Don?

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17. I see they are reporting 600 homes, a target, motel, and lots of vehicles destroyed.

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18. Im not suprised by these fires. Boulder counties open space policies where theres all that unused open space thats over grown has gotten to be nothing more than a wildfire waiting to happen. Im sure much of that open space is contributing to how bad these fires are now. Do you think those who manage these overgrown open space areas will take any responsibility? Ya good luck with that…..

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    1. Big brain thinking right there. “If we just had no grasslands we couldn’t have grassland fires!” The problem isn’t that we haven’t quite paved over everything on the front range yet, it’s that climate change is fueling increasingly unstable weather conditions that influence things like having received 1.5″ of precipitation in the last 4-5 months.

       “Do you think those who manage these overgrown open space areas will take any responsibility?” Jesus Christ, it’s grassland, not a parking lot.

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       1. That should be better taken care of! Debrushed mowed like hay. If it had been done over the summer these fires would be much less worse and easier to put out. Letting things run wild is a majority cause of this. Get realistic. Short grass burns less than long , overgrown. It not about paving it, only about proper management , of which there obviously was none.

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          1. Graze it!

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             1. They have been.

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          2. It is managed, but there hasn’t been any precipitation for a while now. There is also the 100mph wind thingy. I don’t care how well you manage the forests/grasslands, dry and windy is going to be problematic.

             https://www.bouldercounty.org/disasters/wildfires/mitigation/

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          3. Help me Jesus… Sounds like someone not from Superior who is acting as though.

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          4. For the love of God guys, could it be that it’s drier than usual and their are fuels to burn and that’s what is supposed to happen but the area is over populated with folks who feel their homes should be permanent but what’s permanent in world that’s always changing. Is it unnatural or totally natural?!?

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       2. Climate Change? How do you equate climate change to a human caused fire in an area that is windy this time of year in a dead grass fuel bed. Without the human ignition component that has significantly increased along the front range of Colorado, this would be another wind event ahead of strong cold front. We now have a major human ignition problem in Colorado, similar to California. Finally, the dryness and wind you speak of is not unusual during La Nina years east of the divide.

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          1. No precipitation, low humidity, high than normal temperatures .

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             1. You just described the typical pre-frontal environment along the Front Range of Colorado. And you forgot to speak to the abundant 1-hr dead fuel that could careless if precipitation is above average, near average or below average. That area does not maintain a snow cover this time of year, even during average years. You forgot the human start.

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                1. Thank you. This immediate jump to climate change is getting out of hand.

                   Heck of a lot of houses to see burned. Scary.

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                   1. Whyzzat, Dave? You don’t think we should consider consider climate change when we keep having record breaking temps, fires, tornadoes at the wrong time of year? You don’t think that’s what we should consider when those remote (getting less remote) villages where Iditarod and Yukon Quest mushers live are starting to see shorter winters? When they have to bring in snow for a ceremonial start in Fairbanks?

                      When did you notice how little snow lasts the summer in the High Country? Or the pattern of summer days is nothing like it was for decades?

                      Central Illinois farmers figured out* they can use less fertilizer and do without at least one, if not more passes of the plow. It’s better for the soil and the water and may make a difference to the climate. If they complain it won’t help.

                      * er, the University of Illinois department of Agriculture actually, and the landowners who paid attention and convinced their renters to do so

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             2. Ah…a warm, dry fall…

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          2. I live just off Cherry Creek Road in Louisville. At noon I left the house to quickly see where and why I smelled smoke akin to a campfire, while 50 mph winds were blowing. No experience here with this stuff at all, new to the area, but growing up on a dairy farm in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, I knew is that it’s very DRY here as of late. Farmer’s vs. weather=crops I guess, ya’ll know here too I’m sure. I wanted to see how far away it was to see how much time we had (wind was blowing towards our house from where the smoke was starting, or seemingly had started). I made it to Safeway and visibility was bad & then drove up to S Boulder and looking back to 36 I went straight home and packed up the animals/kids and was gone by 2:30.

             Never checked the news or anything, you just know when it looks and feels bad (I thought). Happy to hear no reports of death. My only regret is not banging on my neighbors doors that weren’t packing up, I guess I thought they weren’t home (not a lot of action in our small roundabout as of late—vaca and holiday etc).

             1pm at Cherry Creek and Bella Vista, it was bad. I’d compare not leaving or trying to asap, to standing outside and videotaping a tornado within 3 miles of you while everyone else is in a basement bathtub.

             Can’t wait to help those in need there, houses gone or not. I want to know my neighbors better to bang on the door sooner rather than assume they know too or are out of toan. Will never happen again for me, introduce yourselves more forwardly to those around you when you move I guess is my point. Could help someday during such a rare statistical occurrence such as this.

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       3. A man who lives near the intersection where the Marshall fire is believed to have ignited, said Sunday he believes he witnessed the start of the wildfire on the property next door to him — a pack of houses and land occupied by members of The Twelve Tribes, a Christian religious sect. https://www.denverpost.com/2022/01/02/marshall-fire-origin-twelve-tribes/

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          1. Just to be clear…. the article does say that near the beginning, but quotes later in the article are much more vague. Here is an excerpt:

             Zoltowski, who works with a company that builds fire-resistant homes, has lived next door to that property for about a month, in a home owned by his friend, Dave Maggio.

             When Zoltowski stepped out to investigate the fire Thursday morning, he approached the homes on the sect’s property and found three people huddled between two cars, trying to shelter from the brutal wind. Two younger guys crouched with an older man, Zoltowski said.

             “They were like, ‘He broke his shoulder,’” Zoltowski said of the older man. “And I was like, ‘Oh man, what the hell is going on over here?’ And they said, ‘One of our dwellings caught on fire.’ What was weird is they were like, ‘It’s OK.’ …It was a weird interaction.”

             Zoltowski helped the two younger men get the older man inside a house on the compound.

             “Then I went over to their field and their field was on fire,” he said. The strong winds pushed him over as he walked back to his house. At one point, he looked up to see a line of women and children moving from one building on the compound to another, holding hands.

             He’s sure now, thinking back, that the wildfire began on the Twelve Tribes’ property.

             “I don’t want to speculate, it’s still under investigation, but there is no possible way the fire started from any other place,” he said.

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             1. Did an underground coal fire spark the Marshall Fire, Investigators look into coal mine near Marshall Fire as possible source. https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/authorities-confirm-investigation-into-coal-mine-near-marshall-fire-as-possible-origin-of-fire

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                1. We just published this:
                   https://wildfiretoday.com/2022/01/25/officials-are-investigating-smoldering-coal-mine-as-cause-of-marshall-fire/

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    2. Yeah Scott, we should just wipe out all open space and get a federal grant to start building clap-board condos and parking lots all the way from the Flatirons to the Kansas border… Or an alternative solution, would be for you and 8 billion others to stop breeding and start wondering how much ‘HUMANITY’ is contributing to these wildfires.

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       1. Im all for open space and public use. But even you must admit short grass burns less or slower than long. Discing or mowing like hay would have prevented this from exploding like it has. Oh its so natural, pphhhtttt, its a wildfire hazard that has now exploded.

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       2. Amen!! Brent agreed wholeheartedly, different topic aside.

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    3. Already assigning blame before all the facts are known? Who are you blaming for the grass fires in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas last week; or the fire that burned down most of the farm town of Denton earlier this month. Of course, severe to exceptional long term drought had nothing to do with it, right?

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    4. Wrong. Open spaces are to reduce infrastructure density. This is open plains, natural grasses, what, are you going to go out and mow it all? You expect thousands of homes, businesses to fill our grassland nationwide?

       We, need, grasslands. This is an unprecedented wind event. It’s December. Colorado is normally snow covered by now.

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       1. Wrong!!! Though it has been very dry, that area does not maintain a snow cover during the winter. It is low elevation east of the divide. It snows and melts.

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          1. When it snows and melts it compresses the grass. When it does not snow grass is like fluff. It burns even faster. Normally that grass layer would have been exposed to more weather events that reduced its volatility.

             You keep blaming the grass, without asking how 380 homes in a single subdivision burned, how homes within the old part of town burned, or how a Target shopping center burned, etc.

             Sorry, there just isn’t that much energy in a short to mid grass prairie to fuel those kinds of conflagrations.

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             1. I agree, there isn’t much energy in the grass fuel bed. I would also agree that there are years that snowfall can compact grasses. Compacted grass in strong winds can still result in high rates of spread. Once the large fuels (houses, fencing) started burning, then yes, energy increased. The larger fuels certainly played a big role. I’m not sure what your point is.

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    5. Unused open space? You mean like nature?

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    6. Stay in Dacono, we don’t need your help unless you want to come help with housing thousands of people.

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    7. At the time this fire was racing on the wind it was consuming houses that appear to be fairly close together. Vegetation close to foundations is extremely dry, as is the entire Front range. The fire has also used dry drainage grasses as fuel. In our neighborhood wood shake roofs still exist even though they were supposed to be phased out by 2020 and we had about a 20 year window ahead for compliance. Bottomline is the drought and the extreme wind that is the cause and density to feed the fire.

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    8. I don’t know what you mean by “unused open space”. I’ve lived within spitting distance of open space for most of my life and even those days when I’m not walking or biking with my dog, cat, family I’m *using* that space. I can’t imagine living where my line of sight is heavily impeded, is filled with buildings and/or paved. All of those impact us psychologically and the immediate surroundings. What do you think is happening because of the superheated cities or even the too hot, too large parking lot of the Costco and Target that burned yesterday? (I gave you a clue) I’ve never seen that parking lot even half full- like many other Front Range parking lots.

       Do you really think the county should get out, mow and bale the rocks & sand, along with some vegetation or maybe they should plant alfalfa, then irrigate, then hire a whole lot of people to manage farms. Other parts would have cattle, as they do now. After a point managing the animals might take priority so people wouldn’t be allowed.

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19. We live in Louisville and evacuated. Thank you for providing good detail on the direction of the fire. Something the local news has yet to mention. At the beginning it seemed like it was moving east south east.

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    1. Not being familiar with the area I followed calls on emergency scanner using maps. Its been a very fluid situation. Fires moved mostly east from superior to Lafayette east and Flatiron crossing following 36 to Broomfield southeast. Several structure fires trapping occupants.

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20. Are here many safe escape routes for the residents that need to evacuate rapidly & where are thier locations?

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21. Causes?

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    1. Read 9news link. 80-110 mph winds blew over power lines, burst transformers, started the grassfires. RH is 20s, no snow there yet. Snow forecast up to 6” for Denver area tomorrow.

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    2. Winds downing live power lines

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    3. Marty,I was in Missouri mid Dec the last red flag in the nearby western states. Crazy winds similar to this event and where Kansas alone took the brunt at 35000 acres! I couldn’t imagine trying to fight fires in it. Interesting times indeed

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    4. It sound like powerlines.

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    5. Fallen Power lines and high winds

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22. https://www.9news.com/article/weather/weather-colorado/strong-winds-trees-power-lines-down/73-6c795566-eb3b-4457-92bd-e3ac7b3cedf0

    A link to the weather, fires being reported in the Boulder County area of CO.

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23. My family lives in Boulder, and has been msging me this morning, sending pictures. One of the local stations has reported winds 80-100 mph.

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