Devastating wildfire sweeps through Colorado towns, destroying hundreds of homes
Fox News' Alicia Acuna reports from Louisville, Colorado, as wildfires force evacuations, state of emergency.
Colorado football coach Mark Smith was among those affected by the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the state over the last day.
Smith, who is an inside linebackers coach for the Buffaloes, revealed on Twitter he lost a lot of things as the wildfires moved through the Denver area.
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Flames explode as wildfires burned near a small shopping center Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, near Broomfield, Colorado. Homes surrounding the Flatiron Crossing mall were being evacuated as wildfires raced through the grasslands as high winds raked the intermountain West. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
"Just got word that every material possession we had today is now gone," he tweeted. "Our home, cars, and everything we had in our home lost to the fires that ripped through our community. Thank you to those who reached out. Processing how to completely start over and grateful for our health."
Smith, 43, was in his first year as an assistant for Colorado. He was a defensive coordinator for Long Island University in 2020, he was a defensive backs coach for Arkansas in 2018-2019 and before that was an offensive and defensive assistant at SMU from 2015-2017.
COLORADO FIRES: AT LEAST 580 HOMES DESTROYED, MORE THAN 30,000 EVACUATED
The college football world offered their condolences to Smith.
Large wildfires outside Denver destroyed nearly 600 homes, forced the evacuation of at least 30,000 and sent six people to hospitals as fire crews assessed the destruction Friday morning.
Homes burn as a wildfire rips through a development near Rock Creek Village, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, near Broomfield, Colorado. An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Flames explode as wildfires burned near a small shopping center Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, near Broomfield, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Reports from the scene described a ferocious blaze that became more devastating because the area is bone dry and it spread with the help of 105 mph wind gusts.
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"The end won’t come until the wind subsides," Joe Pelle, the Boulder County sheriff, said. "This is the kind of fire you can’t fight head-on. We actually had deputy sheriffs and firefighters in areas that had to pull out because they just got overrun."
Fox News’ Eddie DeMarche contributed to this report.
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