Those who know Salt Lake, imagine you are looking at the Avenues from a vantage point at Trolley Square and you can see fire on the hillside above So. Temple stretching from the Temple to the U of U. Yeah, that's Colorado Springs right now. It's like Mordor.

The fire jumped the ridge due to 65 mph winds today and homes are burning rapidly. It's like something I've never seen before. We're taking in evacuees and watching the reports.

And I also have friends in Sanpete County, Utah who've had to evacuate their homes in Fairview. These fires are crazy.

Please keep all these people in your thoughts. My son just said, "For those who believe in a certain god, we need a new one."

Driving west today had me in tears because Flagstaff is on fire.

It's scary, and it's sad.

And I almost started a thread with the exact same subject line.

I can't believe that either. The fire jumped the ridge here in the Springs around the same time your fire started. I'm so sorry. Stay safe.

Thanks. You, too.

Couldn't help myself from getting very emotional tonight over the fires. I'm sitting here with the news on even though its 1:30 and they haven't had a new news story in 2 hours, i just cant sleep.

Watching the fire race down that hill... there's no words that can describe the image.

800 firefighters, 9 sq. miles of fire, 32000 evacuations, and unknown amount of property damage. If thats not nuts, nothing is.

I was mostly in shock last night. The fire can be seen but the rest of the city is under a smoke cloud. This morning I couldn't watch the reports of people who tried to get back into their homes to pick up people and items but were stopped short. I started crying, too.

This is my home state too. This video in this link gives a pretty good hint at what it must be like to be observing that fire from your vantage point.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7442085

The images are unbelievable. But we have evacuees, so we know it's real.

It's sad, but part of life out west. In LA, there were too seasons: Spring and fire season. We expected it like clock work. Sort of like building a house along the gulf. Sooner or later the constant hurricanes are going to get you. Sounds cold, but it's a stark reality. Nature does it thing and we build in its path then bemoan our losses.

by John McPhee.

there's a lot in there to make Joe Taxpayer angry.

and yeah, building your home in a canyon where fires are part of the ecosystem is one of them.

in Colorado close to Boulder. My boyfriend is there at his home right now--not in a place that is threatened. Glad I'm in Utah. It is mind-blowing.

My friends in Fairview, Utah also had to evacuate yesterday. I also know peeps in Mt. Pleasant who are nervous because they're surrounded by the Wood Hollow Fire and now the new fire started by a lightning strike yesterday.

It's crazy all over, but man, the fires are popping up everywhere. I'm getting prepared to leave, just in case another one starts near us.

Stay safe.

Also, my friends may be able to return to their houses in Fairview today because the fire came within a mile of city limits then subsided. But like us in the Springs, the wind is supposed to pick up again there this afternoon.

I hope Boulder is OK. We're getting all the attention but I know that everyone near a fire is going through what we are.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20944218

The perfect combination of factors is causing this epic firestorm:

1. Severe drought conditions including minimal winter snowfall.
2. Record extreme hot weather - Denver has had 5 days of 100+ degree heat.
3. High winds gusting to 65 mph, blowing from the southwest toward the Front Range.
4. Extremely low humidity, less than 5% in the west.
5. Dry lightning plus careless humans, maybe arsonists, have started a lot of fires.
6. Scarcity of heavy fire-fighting air-tankers. The fleet of such aircraft was allowed to dwindle over the past 25 years.
7. Extreme red flag fire conditions over the west, with many fires to fight, have over-taxed fire fighting resources.
8. Extensive areas of forests killed by pine bark beetles have created a huge amount of highly flammable fuel for the fires.

You got it. Couldn't have said it better.

I know, toto. The images are just shocking.

My sister and her family are still on evac and my other sister has friends that have lost their homes.

I hope it doesn't jump 24 or I-25. I don't see this ending anytime soon.

Yeah, it hasn't yet jumped 24 but that route near the fire is still closed. We're crossing our fingers (those of us who don't pray) because this afternoon's winds are supposed to pick up again like yesterday's which caused this disaster. We might also get rain and so we're on a flash flood alert as well.

I'm so sorry about the homes lost. One of my colleagues is being sheltered here and she and her husband's home is in danger of being lost or may have already burned (they live in Rockrimmon). A guy I dated also lives up there and his house is threatened. Firefighters are doing the best they can and we're bracing for the coming wind.

The forests have been a powderkeg for over a decade. Fire suppression practices and the pine beetle have turned much of Eastern Slope CO mountains into a fire waiting to happen.

In many forests, nearly half the trees were DEAD from pine beetles. The forest floors are covered with dry wood and dry pine needles. Tinder. So dry, you can SMELL it as you drive through the area, hoping you don't make a spark.

These fires are awful for the residents, but if not now, it would have happened next year, or the next... These forests have needed to burn for a long time. It's the end of an era and the start of a new one... kind of like Yellowstone.

It will very likely change forestry policies. We've been through this in California, too. Sad and terrifying to see.

I was just on the BBC website and there are some photos. The third one in is very scary:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18613975

Awful stuff.

I truly am impressed with the firefighters and their efforts. I also can't believe tens of thousands of people have evacuated without major incidents or deaths.

There are rain clouds high above us. Drop the water, man, dump it from the sky.

Question...

Is this area - Colorado Springs - where there are some polygamist compounds? I remember reading about this area (I think it's this area??) in 'Escape' by Carolyn Jessop. I'm just wondering is all - I don't know that area of the world.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2012 04:42PM by spaghetti oh.

This is Colorado Springs, CO, home of the US Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, etc. Also home to Focus on the FAmily, sadly.

Ah yes! That's the one, Colorado City, not Springs. Thanks.

I just moved here a year ago and was more worried about the Focus on the Family peeps. In fact, when I interviewed for this position, when asked, "What questions do you have?" the question about the conservative Christian influence was my first one.

Most people I've met here are scared of Mormons. I'm the only native Utahn at work and just because I'm from Utah, people have asked if I'm Mormon because many have never met one. These colleagues still consider polygamy as part of Mormon practice (I don't get in to the details with them about the temple, etc.) so if they don't know about polygamists, I don't know who would around here.

Back to the fire...

The conservative evangelical Christians, and also -- most of the jobs in my field are military-related and I'd have to get a clearance. I can't stand having people in my business.

That's why it cracks me up that they would support Mitt Romney. Even the President of Bob Jones University came out in support of Romney -- and they directly teach that Mormonism is a false cult inspired by Satan.

And it looks like rain is headed for Manitou. That may help some and that may signal the start of the monsoon season.

Man, I hope it pours, too. It looks like it. But it just needs to go ahead and dump. Glad you're getting rain!

I still believe in prayer to the Deity of my heart's understanding. I've said a prayer for all those dealing with the fires.

http://director.mercurynews.com/p.php?a=JSQgNmRveGdiY3lnYDQ1JWh6cSs8Oz8uPzY5LTYnNzkiPjgmJjo/MTonNyMoMScyJiMrPDs=&m=1340770975

This is a pretty intense picture of Colorado Springs.

Unfortunately, I saw the start of the spread of that fire yesterday and scenes like this last night. It was unlike anything I'd ever witnessed. Those of us on the road on the northeast side of town looking west were blown away.

It looks like Mordor.

Vandenberg Air Force Base in California deployed their hot shots about two hours ago. Woo-hoo! Read on: http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story.asp?id=123307769

toto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vandenberg Air Force Base in California deployed
> their hot shots about two hours ago. Woo-hoo! Read
> on:
> http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story.asp?id=1233077
> 69

Those are skilled, tough people. Hope all of 'em make it back home after it is over.

One of them once told me "It's all the adrenalin of combat except you don't have to kill folks."

I have been following it all on CNN, bad .. very bad.

Gawds

sending out thoughts of love and compassion to all affected

The damage to the city looks and smells like what might be found in a war zone (something I've never witnessed). The wind's blown in scents of burnt rubber, gas, wood and unknown elements. I'm horrified right now.

Our evacuees are in shock. I'm just so sad.

I wonder if any of the men are available? OK, that was bad, sorry. Link is here: http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2012/06/photos-the-firefighters-of-the-colorado-wildfires/38590/#name here