It Couldn’t Happen…

A wildfire in a city in the middle of winter?  No way.  The Emergency Manager who urged people to prepare for that would probably have been laughed out of town, before December 23rd. That was when the Boulder, Colorado, suburbs of Louisville and Superior lost over 900 homes to a fire that burned 6,000 acres in half a day.  35,000 people were evacuated, and thousands remain without housing

Homes in Louisville, Colorado, leveled by the wildfire are seen covered in snow on the morning of Sunday, January 2.Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty Images

The fire, driven by strong winds, played out over a few hours.  Like the Almeda fire, it was initially fueled not by forest, but by grass, brush, scattered trees – and then buildings.

Residents did not have the benefit of Alert Level 1-2-3 warnings; many decided to evacuate minutes before the flames reached their homes.  Most got out alive, but only with what they wore, what was readily available to be picked up, or already in the car.  There was only time for reaction, not planning or packing.

Do the newly homeless have basic personal items and information, money, medicines, and other desirable supplies?  It depends on their home and car go-bags, and their reflexes.

Like the Almeda fire, it’s suspected that human agency was involved in the initiation.  Under conditions of high wind and ready fuel, one person with a cigarette lighter and ill-will, or with a BBQ grill and carelessness, can cause immense damage.  It’s a social no-no to talk about, but one person with a car and a case of Molotov cocktails could start a transect of fires that would be out of control before the first responders arrived.

But it couldn’t happen here.