Official on efforts to contain Colorado wildfire

Authorities on Saturday issued an evacuation order for 19,000 people near a fast-moving wildfire in rolling hills south of Boulder in the US state of Colorado.

Protected wildland was burning near the Table Mesa neighborhood and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder police said on Twitter.

The wildfire, named the NCAR fire, had grown to 123 acres by late afternoon with no containment, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management.

The fire was moving south-southeast toward Eldorado Springs, the Boulder County Sheriff’s office said. Eldorado Canyon State Park was closed and authorities ordered people hiking or climbing in the area to evacuate.

University of Colorado Boulder Police evacuated the south campus and police blocked westbound traffic on roads near the blaze. The evacuation orders covered 8,000 homes. There was no immediate information on the cause of the blaze.