Ritter returns to Boulder’s Fourmile Canyon fire zone

Gov. Bill Ritter will return to the Fourmile Canyon Fire area west of Boulder today to get an update on ongoing firefighting efforts, even as winds are expected to pick up again this afternoon.

On Thursday, Ritter allocated another $200,000 in state funds to help cover firefighting costs in the most destructive wildfire (in terms of property) in Colorado history. After touring the fire zone Tuesday, Ritter declared a state of emergency and authorized $5 million in state aid.

Today at 11 a.m. Ritter will meet with incident commanders for a fire briefing and to thank firefighters battling the blaze that started on Monday and has destroyed 169 homes in the Boulder County foothills west of town.

Ritter will later visit volunteers and evacuees at the Red Cross emergency shelter at the Boulder YMCA and hopes to do a helicopter flyover, weather permitting.

To track the Fourmile Fire, check out a new aggregate Google map launched Wednesday to allow residents and the general public to track and post fire updates, closure areas and photos of property damage and destruction. It’s being moderated and requires sourcing.

Project Epic, a joint scientific project of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of California, Irvine, is mapping tweeted reports from the Fourmile Canyon Fire.

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