Jan Wesner Childs
The entire town of Estes Park, Colorado, was ordered to evacuate Saturday as a massive wildfire threatened the community of about 6,400 people.
Jered Kramer, a spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, told the Associated Press the latest evacuation orders included all of Estes Park as well as other nearby communities threatened by the East Troublesome Fire.
Several areas were already under previous evacuation orders.
The bodies of a couple who hunkered down in their basement as the fire exploded around them were found on Friday.
Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin confirmed in a briefing late Friday night that Lyle and Marylin Hileman, married 68 years, had perished in the blaze. Family and friends had previously said they were certain the couple was dead after they refused to leave the dream home they had built adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Schroetlin said several people, including safety personnel and friends, had contacted or personally gone to the Hileman's home to offer them help to get to a safer location after a mandatory evacuation order was issued Wednesday.
“All offers to leave were refused," family members said in a statement read by Schroetlin. "At 86 and 84 years of age, their only desire was to be together in the home they loved.”
(MORE: Ballots Rescued From Colorado's East Troublesome Fire)
The statement said Hileman's son, Glenn, spoke to them by phone Wednesday evening as the fire, now the second largest ever recorded in Colorado, closed in on them.
They told him 'it happened.' The fire had reached nearby homes, fields and barns. They smelled smoke. They asked Glenn to call his siblings.
The couple said they were in a part of their basement where they felt safe.
“They were calm, resolute and adamant they would not leave," the family said.
Glenn contacted his siblings and then called his parents back. There was no answer.
“But our family feels comfort in the knowledge our parents left this world together and on their own terms," the family said. "They leave a legacy of hard work and determination to overcome, something all of Grand County will need.”
One relative who posted a photo of the couple on social media said they were found in each other's arms.
As of early Saturday morning, the East Troublesome Fire had burned through more than 293 square miles of land in areas in or around Grand Lake, Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Schroetlin said officials were just beginning to assess the damage.
The fire was being fueled by dry, windy conditions and timber decimated by beetles. High winds were expected to continue through Saturday, with gusts reaching 50 mph in valleys and 60 mph at higher elevations.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for the area.
Some relief will come when a cold front moves in Saturday night, bringing up to a foot of snow to some areas.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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