LOUISVILLE, Colo. – One person has been found, but two are still missing Sunday, in the snow-capped, but still smoking debris of a huge forest fire in Colorado.
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The authorities first announced that everyone was present after the fire. But Boulder County spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said the absence of three people was later discovered amid the rush to handle the emergency.
One of them has since been found alive.
The search for the other two was complicated by still burning debris and snow.
The flames ravaged at least 24 square kilometers and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and other buildings in suburban towns between Denver and Boulder.
The fire happened exceptionally late in the year, following an extremely dry fall and the middle of a nearly snowless winter. Experts say these conditions, along with high winds, contributed to the spread of the blaze.
While homes that burned to the foundations still smoked in places, the fire was no longer seen as an immediate threat, especially with snow and freezing temperatures on Saturday.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis visited some of the damaged neighborhoods on Sunday morning.
“I know it’s a tough time in your life if you’ve lost everything or don’t even know what you’ve lost,” Governor Polis said after the tour. A few days ago you were celebrating Christmas at home and hanging up your stockings and now your homes have been destroyed. ”
The two cities are located approximately 30 kilometers northwest of Denver with a combined population of 34,000.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Utilities officials could not find any downed power lines around where the fire started.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said on Saturday that authorities had executed a search warrant in “a certain place.” He declined to give more details.
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Thomas Peipert, Brittany Peterson et Eugene Garcia, The Associated Press