NCAR Fire: All Evacuations Lifted, Containment Stands At Around 35%

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - All evacuations at the NCAR Fire in Boulder were lifted Sunday at 5 p.m. Latest information on the size of the fire grew to nearly 190 acres and is 35% contained, as of 4:30 p.m. Officials previously said the fire was around 200 acres, but information from a multi-mission aircraft provided more accurate calculations.

Boulder Office of Emergency Management asks residents to be alert if conditions change.

Initially, 19,000 people and 8,000 homes had been told to evacuate. The American Red Cross says they provided shelter for 44 evacuees on Saturday night. The evacuations remain in place as of Sunday afternoon, and OEM asks residents to monitor its website for updated information.

Fire officials say the fire activity was calm following high humidity overnight, but they expected wind gusts up to 20 mph from the northwest and west. They say those winds however did not grow to concern.

RELATED: NCAR Fire Weather Forecast: Warm, Windy And Dry Monday Ahead Of Rain And Snow Late Tuesday

"Today was a good day," Mike Smith, incident commander for the Boulder Incident Management Team, said. "We continue to get a lot of good work done."

No structures have been damaged. Officials say the fire came within 1,000 yards from homes on the west side of Boulder.

The fire sparked south of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which was not directly in the wildfire's path. A cause has not yet been determined.

Boulder emergency authorities are updating an evacuation map online. They are also posting new information at www.boulderoem.com/. Some residents are technically allowed to return home, but physically unable to.

"If their homes are in the green section and the routes to get to their homes are in the red, they will still not be able to get to their homes at this time," said Marya Washburne, spokeswoman for Boulder Fire Rescue.

RELATED: VIDEO: Hikers Run To Safety From NCAR Fire In Boulder

Anyone hiking or recreating near NCAR was also told to evacuate.

Boulder OEM says they used two systems to alert people in the area -- Everbridge and WEA (Wireless Emergency Alerts). They responded to criticism about its emergency alert systems, and the wide range the alerts went out over in surrounding communities.

"The second system, implemented earlier this month, is often referred to as Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEA. This system uses cell phone technology, including cellular towers, to push notifications out, similar to Amber Alerts and National Weather Service notices, to all cell phones that are configured to accept them. The benefit of this system is that alerts can reach individuals who have not opted in using the Everbridge system, which likely includes some of the city's most vulnerable residents. The downside to WEA is that because it uses cellular towers, its messaging is much less precise. Anyone whose phone pings the relevant towers will get the alert. We have received several complaints that individuals well outside of the evacuation zone, including in neighboring communities, received these. This spill over is a well-known issue and currently is hard to avoid," the agency stated on Sunday.

Additionally, fire officials say the WEA system was not in place for the Marshall Fire, which saw its own communication problems.

"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.

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.

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.

PHOTO GALLERY: NCAR Fire In Boulder

Around 100 firefighters are at the scene Sunday morning, but more than 200 from 30 different agencies initially responded.

"We only have 365 fire days a year," said Smith when asked about how a typical "fire season" in Colorado is changing. "We're nervous about the season coming up. When you look at the long term forecast for the upcoming season, I think this is just a sign of the way things are going to go."

There are no reports of injuries or missing people.

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

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said Sunday morning trails from Chautauqua to the south on Eldorado Springs Drive will remain closed.