Three people missing and feared dead from fierce Colorado wildfire

Three people are missing and feared dead after a wind-stoked wildfire roared through two towns in Boulder County, Colorado, prompting thousands of evacuations and destroying nearly 1,000 homes, authorities said on Saturday.

Officials initially said there were no reports of fatalities or missing residents following the rare urban wildfire that erupted Thursday morning on the northern outskirts of the Denver metropolitan area.

Wind gusts in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 kph) pushed flames eastward into the towns of Superior and Louisville, prompting the evacuation of both communities.

In about two hours, the fire had scorched 6,000 acres, officials said.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said the three missing people, whom he declined to identify, all lived in homes that were consumed by the blaze.

"The structures where these folks would be are completely destroyed and covered with about eight inches of snow," Pelle said at a Saturday news briefing, adding cadaver dogs will be deployed on Sunday to search the dwellings.