Waldo Canyon fire leading edge (this is moving east away from the canyon and towards me).
Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Waldo Canyon fire leading edge (this is moving east away from the canyon and towards me).
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Mandatory evacuations for Manitou Springs, Chipata Park, Shadow Mountain, Ceder Heights
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Wow, sounds like conditions are definitely conducive to fire.
Stay safe!
Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Update:
The fire is growing. There are EIGHT fires that have been started across the state in the last day or so (except for the High Park fire).
Over the last week 20 fires were set in Teller County (just up the pass from me). All 20 of them were arson. This one has not yet been determined. HOWEVER, as of 20 minutes ago, the firefighters have determined there is PROBABLY a secondary fire on the north flank of this thing which is separate from the rest of the fire. If that is the case there is a chance (in my mind) this is a deliberate attempt to fire the side of this mountain.
I am sitting in the dining room right now posting this. I have several radios up here going where I can see the fire from my dining room table. In about 10 minutes I'm going to go clear some packing tubs and load up some equipment so my wife and I can evacuate if this gets worse.
If this thing hits the city and gets burning bad it will become a fire storm.
Two MAFFs planes have been authorized to fly tomorrow. (That's my old unit the 302nd out of Peterson AFB). Normally this would not have been done until such time as ALL COMMERCIAL RESOURCES WERE USED UP. This hasn't happened, and this tells me this is a BAD FIRE (it's still only around 2000 acres, but they can't do any infrared checks until tonight to get a firm grip on the true size).
From what I am watching at my vantage point the fires are expanding rapidly.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
When I was about 5 my family was living in Eastport on the border of Northern Idaho when a fire started on the Canada side of the border. All the families were preparing for evacuation when the fire jumped over us and we had fires on both sides and no way out. I can still remember how it seemed like no big deal to me at the time and how odd it seemed with the way the grown ups were acting. Luckily they got the Idaho side under control within a day and night. The Canada side took like a week.
Your own fire seems like they jumped on it pretty quickly so hopefully it won't reach any homes. After reading everything about it I have to say it seems a bit like arson may be involved. Our prayers go out to your family Rick and we're here for you should you need anything at all.
Brian Baldwin
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil.... For I am the meanest S.O.B. in the valley.
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in... And how many want out." - Tony Blair on America
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
-Father Denis O'Brien of the United States Marine Corp.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
The fire was 100 acres at 1pm yesterday. Then it went to 200 in about an hour. By time we left Cripple Creek on the bus, the fire was at over 1000. By the time I got home it was at 2000 and that's the last accurate estimate we have. We won't know more until tonight when they can do an infrared check to get a good estimate of acres involved.
I have decided this is a terrorist attack. Remember the Al qadea thing where they said "set fires out west"? Where better than right here. thouands live in the mountains and we have military installations that will be involved. The AFA is right up there, just north of that fire.
Carson is just south (but across the freeway). Peterson is going to send two MAFFs units tomorrow.
NORAD is just south of the fire (a few miles but it can certainly hop over stuff to get there).
Salvation Army and Red Cross have requests out for resources from us (the hams). Police are busy as HELL. 40% of the CSFD is deployed to the fires. Maybe more this morning. We're keeping folks in house to deal with problems in the city.
I'm not involved in operating radios and probably won't be. I've got my own issues to deal with today and I'll need to be around to assist my wife and kids if things get hectic. I'll leave it to the retired hams that are already out there, but I am monitoring several channels right now (and about to get my scanners up and operational).
Couple of corrections.
I mentioned Pikes Peak as being RIGHT in some of the images. That is WRONG it is LEFT of the fire from my point of view here at home. I'm rough 7-9 miles as the crow flies (it might be further, I'll have to measure that on a topo chart, if I had one). And less than 9 miles from the fire at this time.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Waldo Canyon Fire and cloud system developing because of the heat of the fire. 11:45 MDT
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
This was taken by my son-in-law from south of me looking west. He is about 3-4 miles south of my location and somewhat west of my location.
Update: Weather will not bring rain, only lightning. Winds are picking up to 15 mph at this time. This is not going to bode well for the fire moving northward. We are unclear at this time if there was a second fire. El Paso police and other authorities are moving around up and down the closed highway (24) at this time at high rates of speed.
Several other areas have been alerted to possible evacuation. The main group they are concentrating on right now are the people living in the area just around Garden of the Goods. That would be around that ridge line where all the smoke is evident in my pictures. There are several thousand very EXPENSIVE homes in the area with awesome unobstructed views of both Pikes Peak to their SW and Garden of the Gods to their South. The fire is just north of them it appears.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
How close are any of these fires to where you work?
Brian Baldwin
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil.... For I am the meanest S.O.B. in the valley.
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in... And how many want out." - Tony Blair on America
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
-Father Denis O'Brien of the United States Marine Corp.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Long way from work. 20+ miles. My house though is about 8-9 miles MAX. They've just closed the park near my house though. It's 2 miles away by car. I think they are closing as a precaution against someone starting another fire.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Just was on the roof taking more pictures. Two F-16s just appeared from the NE and flew SW. They did not divert over the fire region, but I've heard them twice now. Normally like during 9-11 when they were doing that they were flying CAPs (Combat Air Patrols....) interesting.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Friend of the family just psted this to facebook. He went to "rescue" his mother who had refused to leave last night. Highway 24 is the road that is separating the fire to the north, from a LOT of small towns just to the south:
This is gonna be my last post until I get back home my phone is about to die. My mom is with me and safe. Long drive back home 2 hrs just to get back to castle rock. Trooper and sheriff said the fire is going to jump hwy 24 and once it does everything will be a loss. Please pray that my mom's and everyone else's homes don't get burned.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
More pictures in the album now
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Ok, too hot to climb on the roof again for more pictures and they are just very hazy shots now. There's so much smoke in the area it is difficult not to see the fire line any more Did see some planes dropping retardant though. That's a good thing.
It's 98 degrees out there. So I'm done climbing for now. I'll sit here where it's cooler (95) in the the house.... lol
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
11,000 people have been evacuated. 295 million dollars in property are threatened. Don't know the numbers.
Way over 2000 acres engulfed. Fire is being held on the ridge where it came over earlier. They are trying to hold the line to protect property now. Letting the fires burn out on their own there.
9 planes are being used. 450 fighters in the field and unknown number of vehicles.
FOUR Maffs units are authorized tomorrow by Obama for use against fires here (all of them, where they are needed).
That's two more than they originally authorized.
Colorado has declared a disaster area and are asking for major federal input.
I'm headed to some place with airconditioning and ice cold beer. Will check in later.
Rick out.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Fire is picking back up. I'm at work though... Our folks here set up local news for us because they are doing 24 hour coverage of the fire now.
I believe the last update was that the fire is over 3000 acres now (probabyl around 3500).
Today is going to be hotter than yesterday, the winds will be gusting up to 35mph and the humidity is at about 4-8% max. God it's going to be nasty today.
On the other hand there should be a couple of the heavy air bombers on the fire today (four were authorized for Colorado yesterday evening and they will fly where needed most).
The fire up north is WAY worse and something like 225 homes have been destroyed already.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
On it.Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson
Re: Colorado Wild Fires
MMCO, aren't you pretty damned close to the High Park Fire? If so, can you post some pictures and give us some updates about that when you get time?
For the record, thanks for the prayers (that was from a friend) - MY house is currently fine, I'm on the far east side of the city. Unless the fire jumps I-25 and goes "Fire Storm" on us, we should be alright. The folks on the west side of I-25 are a lot less safe.
The lady mentioned (the mom) has a house up in the Green Mountain Falls area I believe.
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Re: Colorado Wild Fires
Any word on the culprits? Any leads? Scuttlebutt?
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
Re: Colorado Wild Fires
I'm about 30 miles from the High Park fire. I guess it encompasses some 130 square miles and has destroyed 248 homes at this time. I can see the smoke from my house, but the pics would be unremarkable.
The official cause listed is "lightning on private land".
Last edited by MinutemanCO; June 25th, 2012 at 17:29.
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