Wind-driven grass fires prompt evacuation of two Denver-area towns

LEAVE NOW!" Thick smoke from wildfires threatening both towns was visible in Denver, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the south. Wind gusts of up to 110 miles (177 km) per hour were reported in Boulder, according to the National Weather Service, which said fast-moving fires in the area were creating a "life-threatening situation" in the Superior and Louisville areas.

Wind-driven wildfires prompted evacuation orders for two entire towns just east of the Rockies near Denver on Thursday, disrupting life for more than 30,000 residents at the edge of the Colorado prairie, authorities said.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that sparks from power lines and transformers toppled Thursday morning by high winds had ignited multiple grass fires in the drought-parched area. Evacuation orders were first issued for all residents in the town of Superior, Colorado, with a population of about 13,000, and a short time later for the adjacent municipality of Louisville, home to more than 18,000 residents, the Boulder County emergency management office said on Twitter.

Separately, the National Weather Service office in Boulder tweeted: "All Superior under an Evacuation ORDER. LEAVE NOW!" Thick smoke from wildfires threatening both towns was visible in Denver, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the south.

Wind gusts of up to 110 miles (177 km) per hour were reported in Boulder, according to the National Weather Service, which said fast-moving fires in the area were creating a "life-threatening situation" in the Superior and Louisville areas.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)