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News World Americas Amazon delivery agent rescued 4-month-old and his parents from Colorado wildfire The delivery agent had come to deliver a bike pump to the family and rescued them from the fire to a nearby shelter
Record wildfires rage in Colorado, destroying at least 1,000 homes Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Read more A Colorado family has thanked an Amazon delivery driver for saving their lives from the Marshall Fire that raged across Boulder County on Thursday and Friday.
Up to 1,000 homes have been burned in what is being called the most destructive blaze in Colorado’s history. Horrifying aerial footage showed the devastating impact of the fast-moving wildfire fanned by powerful winds that ripped through towns near Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday, prompting the evacuation of about 30,000 residents.
Colorado resident Mary Stanley said that she, her husband and their four-month-old son were napping at their home in Superior on Thursday when they smelled smoke. They quickly gathered a few things when they saw flames outside and realised that they had to leave immediately.
But when they tried to find their neighbours, the couple realised that they were alone in the neighbourhood as everyone else had already evacuated.
Structures burn as a wind-driven wildfire forced evacuation of the Superior suburb of Boulder, Colorado (USA Today Network via Reuters) That was when Luanne, the Amazon delivery agent, arrived with a bike pump that Ms Stanley’s husband had ordered a few days earlier.
Noticing their situation, Luanne offered to evacuate the Stanleys and their baby using her delivery van.
“She was actually pretty calm about it, she offered to help and she got us in the van and propped us up against the side and she dropped us off at the nearest community center,” Ms Stanley told Fox News affiliate KDVR.
“We could be dead if it wasn’t for Luanne,” she added. “She was our saving grace. A little angel right at the moment that we needed her.”
While the family has lost their home, which was burned down to ashes, they have not yet decided their next course of action.
“We don’t know what our plans are next, you know, we just lost our home,” Ms Stanley said.
“We are worried about our neighbors more than our house cause ya know it’s not stuff that makes a home, it’s the people. And we are just glad we got out safe,” she added.
Authorities on Friday pleaded with the public to refrain from attempts to return to their neighbourhoods until they were deemed safe, as pockets of fire remain.
Several fires broke out on Thursday, believed to have been sparked by downed power lines and all fuelled by unusually dry conditions and high winds, which were gusting up to 105 mph (169 kph).
Colorado was one of the states hit by an unprecedented drought over the summer, and the Boulder area has received nowhere near its usual rainfall and snow, leading to tinder dry conditions allowing the fire to burn out of control.
The town of Louisville’s 21,000 residents were all ordered to evacuate, as were the 12,000 people living in nearby Superior.
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