A 91-year-old woman from Colorado is one of two people missing and feared dead in the state's devastating new year wildfires.
Nadine Turnbull, from Superior, has been missing for three days ever since Marshall Fire evacuations began on Thursday.
Her family say that she was in a home with one of her nieces as the fire draw closer. Somehow, the pair became separated as firefighters set about evacuating the area.
Nadine's family hope that rescuers may have taken her to an evacuation center. She was reported missing to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office.
Crews were still looking for a 91-year-old woman at a home in Superior. Nadine Turnbull, from Superior, has been missing for three days
Another of those who lost their lives in the inferno is 58-year-old Gonzalo 'Chalo' Quesada
Gonzalo 'Chalo' Quesada was suffering from Alzheimers and had just week to live
The hospice confirmed that Quesada died from a combination of his illness, smoke inhalation and the sheer physical trauma he experienced by the evacuation
Quesada was housebound and had no verbal or motor for ten years. Suffering from Alzheimer's and aphasia, doctors believe he would not have lived for much longer
Another of those who lost their lives as a result of the inferno is a 58-year-old man suffering from Alzheimers who had just week to live.
Gonzalo 'Chalo' Quesada died on Friday morning after he was saved from his burning home in Superior.
A former software engineer for IBM, Quesada was housebound and had no verbal or motor for ten years. Suffering from Alzheimer's and aphasia, doctors believe he would not have lived for much longer.
As tens of thousands of people began evacuating their homes, Quesada's wife and sister were able to summon an ambulance before the Marshall Fire wiped out their entire block.
Quesada was taken to Avista Adventist hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation but then that too was forced to evacuate. Quesada was taken to a hospice in Denver.
'They got him cleaned up and he was resting comfortably,' says his wife Michelle Quesada to WWLP. 'But his breathing was very erratic, and we knew he wasn't going to make it through the night, the trauma from his body being jostled around and the smoke inhalation was really, really bad.
'It's really unfortunate that he was in the latter stages of his illness, and this was the way he was going to go out,' she added.
The hospice center confirmed to the family that Quesada died from a combination of his illness, smoke inhalation and the sheer physical trauma he experienced by the evacuation.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family who also lost their home in the fires.
Charley Ferrera, 8, walks through what remains of her grandfather's house in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire on January 2, 2022 in Louisville, Colorado
Charley can be seen looking for anything salvageable as she scours the remains
Denny Ferrera, top, looks into the remains of his home as his son, Joe Ferrera, bottom, sifts through the rubble in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire
Charley Ferrera, 8, left, and her parents, Raelynn Ferrera, center, and Joe Ferrera, walks through what remains of her grandfather's house in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire
Plastic is melted over a Colorado license plate in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire on January 2, 2022 in Louisville, Colorado
Colorado National Guard members secure locations burned by wildfire Sunday in Superior, Colorado
Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked a massive fire in a suburban area near Denver that burned neighborhoods to the ground and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and other buildings
On Sunday, search teams were still looking for two missing people in the snow-covered but still smoldering debris from a massive Colorado wildfire, while people who barely escaped the flames sorted through what was left after the blaze and investigators tried to determine its cause.
The flames ripped through at least 9.4 square miles and left nearly 1,000 homes and other buildings destroyed in suburbs between Denver and Boulder. It came unusually late in the year following an extremely dry fall and amid a winter nearly devoid of snow. Experts say those conditions, along with high winds, helped the fire spread.
In hard-hit Louisville, Susan Hill walked her dog in the well-below freezing chill Sunday morning down a snowy street. She choked up as she remembered three days ago seeing the sky change color from the hill where she used to watch fireworks - and then the nervous sprint out of town with her college-age son and the dog, cat and the fire box with birth certificates and other documents.
The flames stopped about 100 yards from her property, and she slept Saturday night in her home using a space heater and hot water bottles to stay warm since her natural gas service had not been turned back on.
A car sits in what used to be a garage in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire on Sunday in Louisville, Colorado
People walk through a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire. Officials reported that 991 homes were destroyed in the fire, making it the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history
People walk through a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire in Louisville, Colorado on Sunday
A hole is burned in the corner of a Chuck E. Cheese's after wildfires ravaged the area
Snow covers the burned remains of a shopping center after wildfires ravaged the area
The remains of the shopping mall will need to be razed to the ground following the destructive fire
Snow covers the burned remains of a Tesla dealership after wildfires destroyed the frontage
Snow covers the burned remains of a car after wildfires ravaged the area in Superior, Colorado
A burned truck in a destroyed neighborhood in Louisville, Colorado
People whose homes didn't burn in a wildfire salvage some of their belongings over the weekend
Snow covers the burned remains of a car after wildfires ravaged the area
'I don´t even know how to describe it,' she said. 'It´s so sad. It´s so awful. It´s just devastating.'
In the burned-out neighborhood near Hill´s home, a U.S. Mail carrier checked the still-standing brick and stone boxes for outgoing mail. The fire came so quickly people might have put bills or other letters in there, and she didn´t want someone to steal them.
While homes that burned to the foundations were still smoldering in some places, the blaze was no longer considered an immediate threat - especially with Saturday's snow and frigid temperatures.
'A day late and a dollar short,' Hill said of snow, which scientists said typically prevents winter fires that spread in dry grass.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and federal emergency officials visited some of the damaged neighborhoods Sunday morning.
'I know this is a hard time in your life if you've lost everything or you don´t even know what you lost,' Polis said after the tour. 'A few days ago you were celebrating Christmas at home and hanging your stockings and now home and hearth have been destroyed.'
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Utility officials found no downed power lines around where the fire broke out.
Charley Ferrera, 8, plays on a swing at what remains of her grandfather's house
People walk through a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire
An Excel Energy truck drives through a destroyed neighborhood
Officials reported that 991 homes were destroyed in the fire, making it the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history
A woman looks at the remains of a home in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire
A search team walks through a neighborhood destroyed by the Marshall fire
A car sits burned in a neighborhood decimated by the Marshall Fire
Pelle said Saturday authorities were pursuing a number of tips and had executed a search warrant at 'one particular location.' The sheriff refused to give details again Sunday, including whether he thought the fire was set.
'It´s complicated and it´s all covered with a foot of snow,' Pelle said of the scene where the fire started. 'The outcome of that investigation is vital - there is so much at stake. We are going to be professional. We are going to be careful.'
Of at least 991 buildings destroyed by the fire, most were homes. But the blaze also burned through eight businesses at a shopping center in Louisville, including a nail salon and a Subway restaurant. In neighboring Superior, 12 businesses were damaged, including a Target, Chuck E. Cheese, Tesla dealership, a hotel and the town hall.
The two towns are about 20 miles northwest of Denver with a combined population of 34,000.
The Payanna family brings valuables back to their home in Superior, Colorado on Sunday, which was spared by the Marshall wildfire
A woman brings a heater back to her home after the Marshall Fire, in Superior
Marie Payanna brings photo albums back to her home in Superior, Colorado
A police officer guides residents carrying heaters and supplies to their homes in Superior, Colorado
Neighbors hug while bringing heaters and valuables back to their homes
A police officer talks to residents trying to get back to their home after the Marshall Fire damaged property in the area
A resident brings belongings back to her home that was spared by the Marshall wildfire
The Payanna family brings valuables back to their home that was spared by the fire
Utility crews expected to restore electricity to the homes still standing Sunday, but warned gas service might take longer to get back.
People lined up to get donated space heaters, bottled water and blankets at Red Cross shelters. Xcel Energy urged other residents to use fireplaces and wood stoves to stay warm and keep their pipes at home from freezing.
Superior resident Jeff Markley arrived in his truck to pick up a heater. He said he felt lucky to be 'just displaced' since his home is intact.
'We're making do, staying with friends, and upbeat for the new year. Gotta be better than this last one,' Markley said.
Almost a foot of snow has been dumped on Colorado hampering recovery and rescue efforts in the wake of the wildfire that has less three missing presumed dead and thousands without homes
Ten inches of snow has fallen on Boulder as it recovers from the devastating wildfire. Snow and temperatures in the single digits cast an eerie scene amid still-smoldering remains of homes - with an estimated six feet of snow still forecast for certain parts of the state
