Scenes of the CalWood fire as seen from Vinelife Church. Oct. 17, 2020 (Jivan West/CU Independent)
The Calwood Fire developed this afternoon in Jamestown, approximately 15 miles north of Boulder.
According to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management (OEM), level-2 restrictions have been implemented in Western Boulder County.
Gabi Boerkircher of the OEM noted that the fire started around noon and that the local disaster declaration was signed at 1:24 pm. The declaration warned of the severity of the fire and risk of injury.
“The magnitude of responding to and recovery from the impact of the Calwood Fire on Boulder County of October 17, 2020 is far in excess of Boulder County’s available resources. Local resources are being used for emergency response, evacuation, and fire fighting” read the disaster declaration.
“We do know that it started really close to the Cal-Wood Education Center, which is why we are calling it the Calwood Fire,” Boerkircher said.
The fire prompted evacuation orders and warnings for areas just north of Jamestown including an area stretching from Altona to Raymond and including approximately 900 homes according to OEM.
“With some of the winds that were up there pushing the fire around its pretty much everything just north of the town of Jamestown that’s in the evacuation order,” Boerkircher said.
A plane drops fire retardant near the front lines of the CalWood Fire. Oct. 17, 2020 (Jivan West/CU Independent)
Evacuees can check-in at the evacuation check-in point set up at 3460 N. Broadway, Boulder County’s North Broadway Complex at Broadway and Iris.
For updated information from the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, you can check these OEM pages.
OEM has set up a call center at 303-413-7730, for non-emergent information, please contact 911 for emergencies.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Contact Breaking News Editor Mairead Brogan at mairead.brogan@colorado.edu.
