Wildfires spread through Colorado, US, have caused almost 1,000 homes to be destroyed and tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. The blazes have been burning in Denver's Boulder County. Fortunately, no deaths have been reported so far. On Thursday, as many as 30,000 people in Louisville and Superior had to evacuate their homes.
Governor Jared Polis said:
"It was in blink of an eye. This was a disaster in fast motion, all in the course of half a day," Governor Polis said in a news conference on Friday. Nearly 1,000 homes are gone."
The wildfires are believed to be caused by unusual drought and winds of up to 105 mph. Although wildfires in Colorado have occurred many times in the past, this is the first time that the blazes have gone into the state's rural and suburban areas. The fires called, Marshall Fire and Middle Fork Fire have taken place remarkably late in the season.
Polis noted:
"This is our community so to watch it burn so quickly, so unexpectedly, is something that we are struggling to understand."
Footage recorded shows the winds ripping through a car park as the flames consume a local town.
This video from Colorado’s Marshall fire is terrifying. pic.twitter.com/AWqBvs9lWX
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 31, 2021
A 72-year-old resident of Denver, Patrick Kilbride, was informed of the evacuation order while working his shift in a local hardware store. While he ran home as soon as he could, both his pets, a dog and a cat, died.
He said:
"It's just a strange feeling to go from having everything to make your life comfortable to having nothing."
Colorado has been suffering from extreme droughts mainly due to climate change. Temperatures around the world are expected to keep rising according to experts, unless radical measures are immediately implemented by world leaders.
[Based on reporting by: BBC]
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