Neighbor Had To 'Virtually Break Down Door' After Fire Started In Foothills
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - A wildfire that forces evacuations in the Colorado foothills is a rarity for the month of February, but one broke out Friday west of Boulder amid record heat and strong winds, and emergency officials took all the necessary precautions.
Mark Dilauro lives close to the spot where the 5-acre fire on Wagonwheel Gap Road started, not far from Lee Hill Road west of Boulder. He said he spotted the fire sometime after daybreak.
"My wife saw some smoke so I ran down the road a little ways and I saw a fresh grass blaze and a couple of pine trees starting up," he said.
The Dilauros immediately called 911 but said it took firefighters a little while to find the location.
During that time, Mark said the winds shifted and the fire started inching close to a neighbor's home.
"It blew right up next to this house," he told CBS4.
At that time he ran to the home to see if the neighbor was home.
"We had to virtually break his door down," Dilauro said.
The winds then shifted again.
"We got the guy out of the house and started beating it back a little bit and then it changed again and it went up towards the big, white Victorian house on the hill and some bigger trees caught at that point."
Emergency officials issued mandatory evacuation for more 150 homes in the area as a precaution. At midday the evacuations were still in place and firefighters were still working to fully contain the fire.
Dilauro said residents were fighting the blaze with shovels and water, and that he breathed in some smoke during the chaos.
"It was a little dicey for a while," he said.
The Dilauros only moved to the mountains recently, and said the fire took them by surprise.
"For the future we've really got to plan for stuff like this and be ready for it," he said.
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