(Superior) Three people are missing in the blaze that destroyed hundreds of homes in suburban Denver, authorities said on Saturday.
Nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed, hundreds more were damaged, according to Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle.
Mr Pelle also said investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the fire that started on Thursday. Previously, authorities reported at least 500 houses destroyed and two missing.
Fueled by strong winds, the fire spread to entire neighborhoods of an urban area stretching from Denver to Boulder.
Boulder County spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said police, firefighters and sheriff’s assistants were able to locate hundreds of other missing people.
The day before, Sheriff Pelle had said that no one was missing. Mme Churchill attributed this error to the confusion inherent in the presence of several agencies coming to fight the blaze.
“We thought there was none [de disparus], but it was wrong, admitted Mme Churchill at the Denver Post. The information came to us from several channels, we have COVID on our hands. Our communications channels are likely stretched. ”
In addition, climatic conditions could complicate the lives of hundreds of residents who are trying to recover their belongings from their destroyed homes.
At least six inches of snow fell as the temperature plummeted well below freezing. These conditions presented a strange landscape of the suburbs stretching from Denver to Boulder where members of the National Guard continue to patrol.
Red Cross volunteers distributed electric heaters to thousands of victims. The teams are struggling to restore power and natural gas.
At least seven people were injured in the blaze that started Thursday between Louisville and Superior, two neighboring towns about 20 miles northwest of Denver.