Mandatory Evacuations Ordered For Residents Near '37E' Wildfire That's Burned 300 Acres North Of Lyons
UPDATE: Better Aerial Mapping Shows 114 Acres Burned In 37E Fire, 30% Contained
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- Mandatory evacuations were ordered Friday afternoon for residents in the Blue Mountain area near where the 37E wildfire was burning. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office tweeted about the wildfire at 4 p.m.
It was nearly 4 hours later when Larimer County Sheriff's Office provided an update about the acreage of the 37E Fire, about 300 acres and zero percent containment. Crews will continue to work the fire overnight. There are 130 personnel from multiple agencies fighting the fire, with more resources on the way.
Copter4 flew over the fire, located about 3-4 miles north of Lyons, that was sending up a huge plume of white smoke along the Front Range. Airtankers could be seen making water drops on the fire and others dropping fire retardant to keep the flames from spreading.
The 37E Fire has forced the closure of 71N (Blue Mountain Road) at the intersection of Highway 36 and N. 53rd Street, at the intersection of Highway 66.
The first set of mandatory evacuations included those on Vision Way.
A short time after announcing the first set of mandatory evacuations, Larimer County issued more, this time for residents living on Dakota Ridge Road and Chimney Hollow Road.
That was followed by more evacuations for residents on Moss Rock Drive on both sides of the Larimer-Boulder county line.
Followed by even more evacuations for those living south and east of County Road 37E to the Larimer-Boulder county line.
More evacuations were ordered just after 7:30 p.m. Friday, this time voluntary evacuations, for residents from Chimney Hollow Road east to County Road 31.
Just before 8:30 p.m. Boulder OEM issued an evacuation warning for the areas of Stone Canyon, Eagle Ridge and Steamboat Valley north to the Larimer County line due to the 37E Fire.
An evacuation point in the Lifebridge Church parking lot, located at 10345 Ute Hwy in Longmont, was opened on Friday afternoon and then closed for the night. Volunteers of the Red Cross will remain on standby for those who need help.
There are reports of hundreds of customers in the area without power due to the 37E Fire and power poles being damaged.
About an hour later, only 17 customers were reported to be without power while crews replaced power poles.
In December of last year, the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes and buildings in Boulder County.
