BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — As the Marshall Fire roared into heavily populated areas of Boulder County, some residents report, the only way they knew things were getting dangerous was by watching people run out of nearby Target and Costco stores into hazy parking lots.
At ground zero on Dec. 30, where Boulder Sheriff's Office says the fire originated, some residents said that even though they were signed up to get emergency evacuation alerts through Boulder's Office of Disaster Management, communications to their phones were dead.
>> Video above: Boulder County's emergency notification system only sends alerts in English
"I have gotten alerts when there was a flood, but not this time," said Brigitte Towo.
Mike Zoltowski was living in a friend's home. The friend got a notification and he didn't because his phone wasn't registered through Boulder County's service. "I saw the fire, so I got out of there," he said.
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