Former Boulder, Colorado, Mayor Sam Weaver, who was also the former fire chief of Sugarloaf, told CNN’s New Day the fast-growing wildfires are challenging to contain head on.
“There is no way to be in front of a flame front like this,” he said about the fires.
“There is no way to attack it unless you have bulldozers that can dig a line that’s really wide because the really high wind speeds were driving embers and other flames forward so quickly that you had things, like the grass fire was moving really fast that got into trees near homes, you would see crowning. There is no way to attack it head on that’s absolutely true and even from the sides, you have to be careful with the swirling winds that are nearby,” Weaver said.
Weaver said his brother’s home is in the affected area and as the flames got closer, he helped load animals into trailers and pulled out photo albums and a computer from the home.
“By the time we left, say around 4 o’clock, the flames were a few hundred yards away, maybe 300 to 400 yards away and so we had to leave,” Weaver said. “We hope the house is OK, but have no word yet today.”
Weaver said that even though snow is on the way, if it falls too quickly it can further damage homes.
Live updates: Colorado fires destroy hundreds of homes
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