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Shifting Winds In CalWood Fire Force Evacuation For Lyons Park Estates Residents

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- The CalWood Fire has forced a mandatory evacuation for people living in Lyons Park Estates and along Old South St. Vrain Road. Deputies. Deputies with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office are going door-to-door to make sure no one is left behind.

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Because of the shift in winds forecasted for evening hours, and how that might change the fire's behavior, residents are being urged to evacuate during the daylight hours and avoid having to leave their homes in the middle of the night.

"It's really concerning," said Carse Pustmueller, who evacuated voluntarily Saturday and returned to pick up more belongings. "We've had a couple of scares in the past, but not really like this."

Due to fire behavior observed on the #CalWoodFire and the forecasted wind event for overnight hours, the Boulder County...

Posted by Boulder Office of Emergency Management on Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The CalWood Fire has burned nearly 10,000 acres since it started on Saturday. It is 21% contained as of Wednesday.

Residents evacuating are urged to be prepared for the change in weather and to winterize their property because it is unclear when they will be able to return.

According to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, those evacuating are asked to go east on Hwy 66 to N. 75th, turn south, and take Diagonal Hwy (SH119) into Boulder. (U.S. 36 is still closed between St. Vrain (north) and Nebo (south) to allow for active firefighting operations.)

"Just an anxiety," Pustmueller said while describing her experience. "The whole week has been anxious."

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The town of Lyons remains on evacuation warning, and on Wednesday, many people were extra vigilant. Some told CBS4 they had their bags packed and were ready to leave on a moment's notice.

"With winds today and continued dry conditions, I think there's a lot of nervousness about getting an evacuation order and the safety of their houses, their town, their animals," said Neil Sullivan, owner of the St. Vrain Market.

For many who've lived in Lyons for some time, being on standby triggers what Sullivan described as "PTSD" from the 1,000-year flood in 2013 that devastated the town.

"There was a lot of trauma associated with that," He said. "We lost a lot of our homes and our residents, we lost a lot of business income, so it was a long rebuilding process."

A Red Flag Warning for the area of the fire went into place at noon on Wednesday and is expected to stay in place throughout the night. A current map of the CalWood Fire shows the northernmost edge of the fire is more than two miles away from the town of Lyons.

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According to a spokesperson with CalWood Fire incident command, the fire had not grown significantly to the north or east Wednesday.

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