About 26 homes in a southern Boulder, Colo. subdivision have received evacuation notices as firefighters work to contain a blaze that consumed 300 acres in four hours, 9news.com reported. Boulder, a college town of 100,000 residents, is about 30 miles from Denver.
Officials say the Flagstaff Fire, as it is being called, is moving quickly toward the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a federally-funded research facility, 9news.com reported. Three aircraft and a massive C-130 air tanker have been dispatched to fight the fire, which has been described as an “extreme” blaze.
"We're about one ridge over from the city of Boulder," Boulder County sheriff's spokesman Rick Brough said of the fire at a news briefing, according to the Denver Post.
The fire, which started at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday in Boulder County, was believed to have been sparked by lightning.
Meanwhile, further south in Colorado, the Denver Post reported that 7,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Colorado Springs as the Waldo Canyon Fire consumed more than 5,000 acres.
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