Experts said that Boulder residents will likely not need to evacuate due to the Four Mile Canyon Fire. The fire has spread to 6,427 acres by now.
�At this point there�s a very low risk [for City of Boulder residents],� said Andrea Holland-Sears, a public information officer. �The fire is 56 percent contained�we�re making good progress.�
Experts said they�re not sure when the fire will be completely contained.
�We don�t have a date yet, we�ll have a better idea in the next couple of days,� Holland-Sears said.
Many residents who did evacuate in areas like Gold Hill have returned to their homes.
�About 2,000 people that have evacuated came back in,� said Joe Calwell, a public information officer.
Teams are continuing to work to catalog burned structures and to investigate the fire’s cause and origin. At present the list of destroyed structures remains at 172, 169 of which are homes. An additional 25 structures have been damaged. Boulder County building officials and property assessment teams will be going through the burn area this weekend to obtain more accurate and complete information, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management.
More than 1,000 firefighters, 111 engines, 38 water tenders, 22 firefighter crews, six helicopters and one dozer have all been used to help quell the fire. The fire has cost $6.7 million to date, according to the Incident Information System.
Seven minor injuries and no deaths have been reported due to the fire.
The cause of the fire, most likely human, is currently under investigation. According to the Incident Information System they estimate the fire will be fully contained by midnight on Monday.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Julie Ryan at Ryanja@colorado.edu.