An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening, according to The Associated Press.
While Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said only one injury has been reported, other reports said six people have been injured in the fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph (169 kph).
The first fire erupted just before 10:30 a.m. local time and was "attacked pretty quickly and laid down later in the day and is currently being monitored" with no structures lost, Pelle said.
A second wildfire, reported just after 11:00 a.m., "ballooned and spread rapidly east," Pelle added.
The city of Louisville, which has a population of about 21,000, was ordered to evacuate after residents in Superior, which has 13,000 residents, were told to leave. The neighboring towns are roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver.
The fires have prompted Gov. Jared Polis to declare a state of emergency, allowing the state to access disaster emergency funds.