Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Colorado Burning Hundreds of Homes as Tens of Thousands Evacuated

Wildfires have torn their way through Colorado over the past 48-hours leaving tens of thousands of people homeless, countless properties destroyed and a state of emergency declared late Thursday night.

AP reports at least one first responder and six others were injured, though Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle acknowledged there could be more injuries and deaths could be possible due to the intensity of fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph.

The fast-moving fires are burning in Boulder County, north of Denver, and officials say deaths and injuries are likely as the blazes spread further.

Some 30,000 people in the towns of Louisville and Superior were told to leave their homes on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been declared by Governor Jared Polis.

Flames engulf homes as the Marshall Fire spreads through a neighborhood in the town of Superior in Boulder County, Colorado on December 30, 2021. – (JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images)

A home burns after a fast moving wildfire swept through the area in the Centennial Heights neighborhood of Louisville, Colorado on December 30, 2021. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

“This fire is not so much a question of resources,” he told a press conference, as reported by the BBC. “This fire is a force of nature.”

“We hope that the winds die down, that the weather changes,” he added. “But for those who are directly affected, know that you don’t stand alone.”

Wind gusts of over 100 miles an hour have been reported in some places, fanning the flames and complicating firefighting efforts by preventing aircraft from taking to the skies.

The activity of the fires, which are burning unusually late into the winter season, will depend on how the winds behave overnight and could determine when crews are able to go in and begin assessing the damage and searching for any victims.

“This is the kind of fire we can’t fight head on,” Pelle said. “We actually had deputy sheriffs and firefighters in areas that had to pull out because they just got overrun,” he added.