This is a developing story and will be updated. It was last updated at 9:20 a.m., when the fire reached 100% containment.
A wildfire burning on the Goat Trail near the Sanitas Valley and Dakota Ridge trails in Boulder prompted an evacuation warning in north Boulder early Wednesday, with officials urging residents to prepare to leave if conditions changed. The fire, known as the Goat Trail fire, was initially estimated at 2 to 3 acres, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
As of 9:20 a.m., the fire is 100% contained, and all evacuation warnings have been lifted. Crews are continuing to monitor the area, and the scene remains active. No injuries were reported, and no structures were lost.
Earlier Wednesday, fire crews stopped the forward progress of the fire. The Goat Trail, on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks land, is currently closed. Sanitas Valley Trail, Dakota Ridge, Sanitas East Ridge and Sanitas West Ridge trails are also closed.
The fire is burning west of the 200 block of Hawthorne Avenue and was estimated at 1.9 acres as of 6:35 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. Door-to-door evacuation notices were conducted out of caution and were not official evacuation orders. A planned water drop by air support at 8 a.m. was canceled due to lack of need, according to Boulder Fire-Rescue.
The sheriff’s office said people within the warning area should gather essential items and be ready to go, especially those who may need extra time.
“If you need assistance or might need extra time, begin your evacuation now,” the city’s emergency alert stated.
The City of Boulder Emergency Notification System issued the warning at 3:56 a.m. for areas west of the 200 block of Hawthorne Avenue.
The evacuation warning area was originally bounded by Linden Drive to the north, Sunshine Canyon Drive to the south and Broadway to the east.
Boulder Fire-Rescue, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies are responding to the fire.
An evacuation warning means residents should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Officials advise gathering essential items, making a plan for pets and monitoring alerts.
A map of the affected area and additional information was available at BOCO911Alert.org.
Officials have not yet released any information on the cause of the fire.
The Goat Trail fire is now the third wildfire in or near Boulder city limits since February, following the Bluebell Fire southwest of Chautauqua and a vegetation fire south of Chautauqua near Enchanted Mesa Trail earlier this week.
The fires come as Boulder enters spring under extremely dry conditions. Boulder has now fallen 50 inches below normal snowfall season-to-date, according to BoulderCAST. Fire officials say fuels are fully cured, snowpack is far below normal and red flag conditions have arrived earlier than usual. Combined with periods of low humidity and wind, those conditions have raised concerns about an early and potentially severe fire season if ignitions occur.
Is the city starting to see a pattern of 4 fires at trailheads in the past two months? These dont get started through spontanelous combustion and there hasnt been any lightening…
In the email you used the term “evacuation orders,” which is inaccurate. There were never any orders, rather only warnings. The article used the correct terminology but the email summary did not. Please be careful with your use of those very specific and different terms.
Thank you. And correct, there were only official evacuation warnings, as our story states, though door-to-door evacuation notices did take place. We tweaked at least the online version of the newsletter to make that more precise.
We have not had any lightning in months and clearly, even though we may not know the cause, all these fires were started by people. The top causes are arson, smoking, open fires, fireworks and sparks from vehicles or machinery. We need this tatement in every article about fire. A significant role of journalism is to inform.
Thank you. As we learn more about what caused these recent fires, we will report it. That is our primary role: to report what is true. We will continue working to determine what happened. At this point, City of Boulder officials say the cause of the Bluebell Fire near Chautauqua remains undetermined, though investigators have ruled out powerlines, weather and foul play.
But sure, go ahead and send the kids into school in the morning in the evacuation area!?!?
Hmmm…..”residents should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice”
The fire was 100% contained by the time BVSD schools started this morning, and all evacuation warnings had been lifted.