Wildfire In South Boulder: Some Evacuations Still In Place Due To 120+ Acre NCAR Fire

UPDATE: NCAR Fire: Some Evacuations Lifted, Containment Stands At Around 20%

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - A wildfire in south Boulder put up lots of smoke and forced evacuations Saturday afternoon. At around 6 p.m., emergency officials say the fire grew to 122 acres with zero containment.

It is being called the NCAR Fire due to its close proximity to the south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is not directly in the wildfire's path. Boulder officials said that the Table Mesa area in south Boulder and the Eldorado Canyon area were under a mandatory evacuation, but by 10 p.m. some of those evacuations were lifted.

RELATED: Evacuation, Assistance Information For NCAR Fire

Boulder emergency authorities are updating an evacuation map online. They are also posting new information at www.boulderoem.com/.

The Eldorado Springs area and the Sans Souci communities were also under evacuation.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said there were 19,000 people in the evacuation zone as well as 8,000 homes and 7,000 structures.

RELATED: Firefighters In Boulder Rush To Protect Homes From NCAR Fire

Dozens of vehicles were seen leaving the area shortly after the evacuation orders were given.

Anyone hiking or recreating near NCAR was told to evacuate.

"You could see flicks of flames 40 to 50 feet high coming over the top of the ridge, and people quickly started dispersing," said Anthony Wermann, who was hiking at the time.

"We are thankful for the swift action and response to this wildfire by our firefighters and first responders," Gov. Jared Polis said in a press release. "State officials have spoken with Sheriff Pelle this afternoon, and the state has deployed two firefighting aircraft, including a single-engineer tanker and type 2 helicopter, and stands ready to assist with the response. We will continue to monitor this evolving situation."

Copter4 flew to the scene and smoke could be seen lifting from forest areas of the foothills. It is not clear if there are any structures that are threatened.

Firefighters were seen creating a line blocking the fire from any homes.

The American Red Cross is assisting at an evacuation center at the East Boulder Rec Center at 5660 Sioux Drive. The Boulder County Fairgrounds is also accepting large animals at 9595 Nelson Road in Longmont.

Smaller pets can be taken to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley at 2323 55th Street.

City of Boulder law enforcement and fire and rescue agencies responded to the open space next to NCAR at approximately 2:30 p.m. First Alert Meteorologist Callie Zanandrie reports wind gusts in this area were around 30 mph at around 3:30 p.m.

"I would love the winds to die down," said Daniel Riordan, who evacuated his home in the Eldorado Canyon area. "That's kind of really the big hope right now, is just to get these winds to calm down so they can get these things under control."

One woman who was hiking in the area told CBS4's Conor McCue she drove around after evacuating shouting at others to do the same, saying she wanted to give them as much of a heads up as possible.

Those in the area were being told not to call 911 but take the safety precautions necessary to evacuate.

The University of Colorado Boulder South Campus was also being evacuated. Eldorado Canyon State Park was closed. Ranger were reportedly working to get visitors out of the park.