Colorado authorities say last week's wildfire caused $513 million in damage and destroyed 1,084 homes and structures. The blaze was the most destructive in the state's history.
An American flag flutters in the wind over over the charred remains of a home destroyed by wildfires Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Superior, Colo. Colorado authorities said Thursday, that last week's wildfires caused $513 million in damage and destroyed 1,084 homes and structures.
Authorities previously estimated that at least 991 homes and other buildings were destroyed. Two people are missing, though officials have found partial human remains at one location.Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the wind-whipped wildfire, which forced thousands to flee on very little notice. The inferno erupted following months of drought and fed on bone-dry grassland surrounding fast-growing development in the area near the Rocky Mountain foothills.
In 2020, Colorado also suffered its three largest wildfires in recorded history as a prolonged drought holds its grip on the Western U.S. Federal and state investigators have interviewed dozens of people as they work to determine what started the fire on a day when winds surpassed 100 mph . Their efforts are focused on an area near Boulder where a passer-by captured video of a burning shed on the day the fire began.