The High Park Fire continues to burn out of control and nearly doubled in size overnight growing to 36,930 acres as of Monday morning.
9News reports that nearly 100 homes have now been damaged or destroyed in a fire that authorities are calling "very aggressive." Firefighters have seen flames as high as 300 feet and moving as fast as 20-40 feet per minute, according to InciWeb.org.
On Monday, officials also confirmed that there has been one death due to the High Park Fire, but further details have not been provided, The Coloradoan reports.
"We're approaching 36 straight hours of evacuations," Smith said at a Sunday briefing according to 7News. "As soon as our deputies of the fire personnel get done with one [evacuation], we've got another one. It's completely unheard of."
On Sunday night, the High Park Fire burning in Larimer County, Colorado had already scorched more than 20,000 acres and Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said there is little hope for containment anytime soon.
"We have no hope for containment today," Smith said during a Sunday media briefing about the fire. "Mother Nature is driving this fire. All we can do is get people out of the way."
Reuters reports that Mother Nature did indeed produce difficult conditions for firefighters over the weekend including stiff winds, dry conditions and temperatures rising above 90 degrees near the fire.
The total firefighters on the scene has increased as well, jumping to 400 on Monday from 250 on Sunday. Sheriff Smith said that the firefighters are doing everything they can to battle the blaze with the support of several air tankers and helicopters. Additional ground, air and fire engines have been ordered for Monday, according to InciWeb.org.
"This is the fire a lot of folks in Larimer County have always been worried about," Gov. John Hickenlooper said after touring the scene of the fire, The Denver Post reports. "We are throwing everything at it we can." Gov. Hickenlooper signed an executive order requesting National Guard support for fire relief efforts.
During a Sunday media briefing, Smith echoed Hickenlooper's sentiments saying that this fire has been burning through multiple areas of Roosevelt National Forest that authorities have been concerned about for the past two decades.
9News reports that more than 2,000 emergency notifications have gone out to residents and businesses within a five to 15-mile radius of the 22-square-mile fire over Saturday and Sunday.
To put the size of the fire into perspective -- at nearly 37,000 acres, the fire is now larger than the entire city of Boulder, Colorado.
For the latest official maps of the fire, updates on closed roads and evacuations visit InciWeb.org.
LOOK: Photos, video from the High Park Fire below.
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