At Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, two aircraft tankers each with 2,000 gallons of fire retardant took off at 5:20 p.m., beginning a multi-day aerial firefighting campaign.

Winds eased in the late afternoon, making it possible for the airplanes to drop the retardant on the periphery of the fire zone in an attempt to contain the flames.

[8] Colorado's governor, Bill Ritter, declared a state of emergency and dedicated $5 million to help the effort.

[10] Higher relative humidity and cooler temperatures allowed firefighters to build additional fire control lines and strengthen existing ones.

[11] Earlier in the day 20 people in the area were reported missing; by night fall the number had fallen to 5.

The number of homes reported destroyed went up to 150, making it the second worst wildfire in Colorado history at the time.

At 10 a.m. some residents of the affected area were allowed to return to their homes, but were forced to move back out at 2 p.m. due to high winds.

[13] By 3 p.m., sustained winds of 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 64 mph were reported and relative humidity dropped below 30 percent.

[17] "The Boulder County Sheriff's Office has lifted evacuation orders on all subdivisions within the fire perimeter.