No Flooding So Far, But More Rain To Fall In Fourmile Burn Area
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - The Office of Emergency Management in Boulder County says the Fourmile Fire burn area is expected to get an inch and a half of rain on Thursday.
So far, there's been no major flooding in the burn zone but it remains a concern with the lack of vegetation and potential for mudslides.
Potentially devastating thunderstorms were expected on Wednesday but most of the severe weather bypassed the charred hills. Light snow was falling there on Wednesday night when a CBS4 crew was there. Still, little streams were forming and just a bit more rain could lead to a merging of those streams and a major flood.
Some residents in the area on Wednesday who live near rivers and streams surrounded their homes with hay bails and sandbags in an effort to divert the rising water.
"If the flood comes, it comes, there's nothing we can do about it but try to slow it down," said Norm Fetrow, who was out Thursday with his father Ernie trying to build a barricade around his 87-year-old grandmother's home near Fourmile Canyon Road. The large wildfire last September came only 150 feet from the home.
Fetrow and his father evacuated the woman to higher ground Thursday and will keep her out of harm's way until the precipitation subsides.
"She's not very mobile so it's best to get her out of here right now," Fetrow said.
The Fourmile Fire in Fourmile Canyon and Sunshine Canyon just west of Boulder destroyed 169 homes.
Re-seeding efforts have been ongoing to try to spur new plant growth in the area.
