DENVER (AP) – A late-season wildfire pushed by hurricane-force winds tore through two densely populated Denver suburbs and seemed destined to leave a trail of deaths. Yet, only two people are unaccounted for out of some 35,000 forced from their homes.
It’s a remarkably low number of possible casualties, according to disaster experts and authorities, all the more so because a public alert system did not reach everyone and the wintertime blaze caught many people off-guard.
Several factors broke in favor of the evacuees: The blaze came during daylight and over the holidays when many were at home in mostly affluent neighborhoods where most residents have easy access to vehicles and could flee because the region has an extensive road network.
It also might have helped that the area has seasoned emergency management personnel who have worked other recent wildfires, major floods in 2013 and a supermarket mass shooting last March.
“In terms of the big picture it’s a really miraculous evacuation,” said Thomas Cova, a University of Utah professor who researches emergency management and wildfire evacuations. “So close to a populated areas … spot fires everywhere and 100-mile-per-hour winds – I think it’s incredible that’s there’s only two people missing.”