BOULDER, Colo. — More than 700 University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) employees and 600 students live in areas that were evacuated last week due to the Marshall Fire, the university said Tuesday.
That number included dozens of homes belonging to CU Boulder students, faculty and staff, the school said. Officials also said they expect damage reports to go up in the coming days.
“The trauma Boulder County is enduring is significant and calls for a long-term, all-hands recovery,” said CU Boulder Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke. “While we are still evaluating who needs help and the best ways we can support our impacted students, faculty and staff, our campus community should know that we are committed to helping in any way we can.”
In addition to the fires, the area was hit with extreme weather including strong winds that knocked down trees around campus, shattered glass and caused power outages, the university said.
That was followed by a winter storm that brought single-digit temperature, causing pipes to burst and flood some campus buildings, according to CU.
Campus leaders decided to begin the spring semester with fully remote instruction, considering the fact that so many staff and faculty members are facing significant challenges.
Some of those include managing illnesses due to COVID-19, securing housing, working with insurance companies, helping others in the community and replacing destroyed personal belongings from laptop computers to cars.
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