The Colorado fires that raged through Boulder County Thursday evening may have claimed as many as 1,000 homes as of Friday, according to authorities.
One of those homes belonged to University of Colorado assistant football coach Mark Smith.
”Just got word that every material possession we had today is now gone,” Smith tweeted Thursday night. ”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.”
Just got word that every material possession we had today is now gone. 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.
— Mark Smith (@coachmarksmith) December 31, 2021
Smith, the inside linebackers coach of the Buffaloes, just completed his first season in Boulder, Colorado. Smith was the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Arkansas for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He accepted the defensive coordinator position at Long Island University in July 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, LIU did not play a full fall football schedule. Prior to Arkansas, Smith was an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University from 2015-2017.
The fires have devastated the Boulder County community, particularly the towns of Louisville and Superior, Colorado. Friday morning, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said they expect the number of homes lost to the fires to increase.
“I would estimate it’s going to be at least 500,” Pelle said according to The Denver Post. “I would not be surprised if it’s 1,000.”
The Front Range of Colorado has had a particularly dry winter, with Denver setting a record for consecutive days without snow earlier in December.
A cold front moved in Friday, bringing with it snow to the areas impacted by the fires.
“It will be very chilly as we ring in the new year tonight,” NWS Boulder posted to twitter. “At midnight, temperatures will be in the teens to single digits while wind chills will be below zero in spots. Snow will be falling across the majority of the area at midnight.”
“There’s still areas burning inside the fire zone, around homes and shrubbery, but we’re not expecting to see any growth of the fire,” Pelle said. “I think we’re pretty well contained.”
Friday morning, Governor Jared Polis (D-CO) flew over the areas impacted by the fires.
“This morning I’m joined by our emergency management experts to inspect the damage caused by the Marshall and Middle Fork fires,” Polis said. “This is a tragedy and the emergency is not over. We will work together to support Coloradans affected by this devastating fire.”
This morning I’m joined by our emergency management experts to inspect the damage caused by the Marshall and Middle Fork fires. This is a tragedy and the emergency is not over. We will work together to support Coloradans affected by this devastating fire #coloradostrong pic.twitter.com/fIXdeEl7er
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 31, 2021
As of Friday morning, no casualties have been reported, something Polis has called a “miracle.”
“We might have our very own New Year’s miracle on our hands if it holds up that there was no loss of life,” Polis said.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].