Colorado fire victims begin new year surveying destruction

An overnight dumping of snow and frigid temperatures compounded the misery of hundreds of Colorado residents who started off the new year trying to salvage what remains of their homes after a wind-whipped wildfire tore through the Denver suburbs.

At least 15cm of snow and temperatures in the single digits cast an eerie scene on Saturday amid the still-smouldering remains of homes destroyed in Thursday’s wildfire that raced through a suburban area that lies between Denver and Boulder. Despite the shocking change in weather, the smell of smoke still permeated empty streets blocked off by National Guard troops in Humvees.

For the thousands of residents whose homes survived the conflagration, Red Cross shelter volunteers distributed electric space heaters as utility crews struggled to restore natural gas and electricity.

The blaze, which burned at least 24 square kilometres, was no longer considered an immediate threat.

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Families forced to flee the flames with little warning began returning to their neighbourhoods Friday to find a patchwork of devastation. On some blocks, homes reduced to smoking ruins stood next to ones practically unscathed by the fires.

“For 35 years I walked out my front door, I saw beautiful homes,” Eric House said. “Now when I walk out, my home’s standing. I walk out my front door and this is what I see.”

Cathy Glaab found that her home in Superior had been turned into a pile of charred and twisted debris. It was one of seven houses in a row that were destroyed.

“The mailbox is standing,” Glaab said, trying to crack a smile through tears. She added sadly, “So many memories.”

Despite the devastation, she said they intend to rebuild the house she and her husband have had since 1998. They love that the land backs up to a natural space, and they have a view of the mountains from the back.

Rick Dixon feared there would be nothing to return to after he saw firefighters try to save his burning home on the news. On Friday, Dixon, his wife and son found it mostly gutted with a gaping hole in the roof but still standing.

As the flames swept over drought-stricken neighbourhoods with alarming speed, propelled by guests up to 169kmph, tens of thousands were ordered to flee.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation. Emergency authorities said utility officials found no downed power lines around where the fire broke out.

With some roads still closed, people walked back to their homes to get clothes or medicine, turn the water off to prevent the pipes from freezing, or see if they still had a house. They left carrying backpacks and pulling suitcases or wagons down the sidewalk.

David Marks stood on a hillside overlooking Superior with others, using a pair of binoculars and a long-range camera lens to see if his house, and those of his neighbours, were still there, but he couldn’t tell for sure whether his place was OK. He said at least three friends lost their homes.

He had watched from the hillside as the neighbourhood burned.

“By the time I got up here, the houses were completely engulfed,” he said. “I mean, it happened so quickly. I’ve never seen anything like that... Just house after house, fences, just stuff flying through the air, just caught on fire.”

President Joe Biden on Friday declared a major disaster in the area, ordering federal aid be made available to those affected.

The wildfire broke out unusually late in the year, following an extremely dry fall and amid a winter nearly devoid of snow until the overnight snowfall.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said more than 500 homes were probably destroyed. He and Gov. Jared Polis said as many as 1,000 homes might have been lost, though that won’t be known until crews can assess the damage.

• Americas