Flash update: Another wildfire in Boulder

No one has yet pinpointed God's exact gripe with the place

At around 2:00 this afternoon, a wildfire started near a trailhead in the open space west of NCAR, the approximate midpoint of last Sunday’s 10K remembrance run.

As of 6:20 p.m., the fire had not damaged any structures, but stood at zero percent containment had consumed 123 acres of open space and forced the evacuation of multiple neighborhoods in South Boulder, around 19,000 people in all. (About 107,000 people reside within the city limits.)

It looks like they are using one helicopter for air assistance.

I’m about a mile east-northeast of the top right (northeastern) corner of this map. The northern boundary of the evacuation area is just to the north of the area shown.

This was taken at around 5 p.m. near the intersection of Foothills Parkway and Baseline Road, a five-minute walk from home.

I know multiple Boulder runners who live in the evacuation area, and expect to stay put myself. If you are on social-media patrol and reading this close to its posting time, and see chatter about displaced persons with nowhere to go, or otherwise learn of anyone in dire straits because of this, I have space for a couple of people. They are also taking refugees at the East Boulder Recreation Center, along with any pets they have.

I’ll update the Web version of this with anything important I see or hear.