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vangogh
06-27-2012, 01:33 AM
Seriously. There are 8 or 9 fires going in Colorado right now. One of the newest started this afternoon just outside of Boulder. When I say just, I literally mean just. It's on the west side of one of the mountains that borders the city on its east side.

Here's a picture that was taken a couple minutes down the road from where I live. Everything you see in the image is Boulder. Here are a lot more images (http://www.9news.com/news/article/274444/339/Two-fires-burning-in-Boulder-County). I could tell there was a fire by going outside and smelling it. Then I took to Google to find out what was going on.

This one started with a lightning strike. When colds rolled in earlier I thought maybe we'd get some much needed rain. Instead we got more fire. If you know how to make it rain please do so and send it our way. It's incredibly dry here and we're only halfway through fire season. The worst usually doesn't come till later in the summer.

billbenson
06-27-2012, 07:53 AM
Seriously. There are 8 or 9 fires going in Colorado right now. One of the newest started this afternoon just outside of Boulder. When I say just, I literally mean just. It's on the west side of one of the mountains that borders the city on its east side.

Here's a picture that was taken a couple minutes down the road from where I live. Everything you see in the image is Boulder. Here are a lot more images (http://www.9news.com/news/article/274444/339/Two-fires-burning-in-Boulder-County). I could tell there was a fire by going outside and smelling it. Then I took to Google to find out what was going on.

This one started with a lightning strike. When colds rolled in earlier I thought maybe we'd get some much needed rain. Instead we got more fire. If you know how to make it rain please do so and send it our way. It's incredibly dry here and we're only halfway through fire season. The worst usually doesn't come till later in the summer.

Go figure. 'we just had over 20 inches of rain in the past several daysl Tropical storm hovering in the area. 50 mph gusts of wind . I took a tree out that was making me nervous that it might fall on the house a week agol 65 ft pine that is known to break in half and crash on houses. Glad I dd that.

huggytree
06-27-2012, 08:50 AM
i think its rained 1x in 45+ days here in WI....No Burn warnings posted everywhere.....im not sure if we will have Fireworks next week

i will most likely wait until July 5th to buy the for my family since i wont light them off until it rains....

other than my dying grass its been a great summer though

vangogh
06-27-2012, 11:55 AM
Bill, you're under water and we're on fire. The wildfire here in Boulder is closest to me, but it's not the biggest in the state. One an hour or so north of me has been burning a few weeks now and is the 2nd biggest in Colorado history I think. One a couple hours south in Colorado Springs got further out of control yesterday or the day before. About 30,000 have had to evacuate their homes. The air force academy may be joining them too.


not sure if we will have Fireworks next week

Nothing for us this year. I think the state put a ban on fireworks for obvious reasons.

We get the majority of our moisture in the form of snow over the winter and into the spring. Then it melts off and the runoff is what gives us whatever moisture we have in the summer. No snow this year though. There have also been pine beetles eating most of the trees around here for a few years. Instead of live trees we have a lot more dead dry trees that make for good kindling.

KristineS
06-27-2012, 12:00 PM
Those fires look pretty scary. Poor Colorado, the whole state is practically on fire. I'm keeping a good thought for everyone there.

Wish I knew how to make it rain. We could use some here too. I think almost everywhere could except for Minnesota and Florida. They've probably had enough.

vangogh
06-27-2012, 12:09 PM
Scary is an understatement. Here's what it looks like in Colorado Springs (http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_20949290/wildfire-devours-homes-colorado-springs?source=most_viewed). I think the pictures are from Monday night and yesterday. This is probably the worst fire going at the moment. It doubled in size overnight. The one up near Ft. Collins is the largest. Last I heard it was 55% contained. The Colorado Springs fire is only 5% contained.

Harold Mansfield
06-27-2012, 04:56 PM
I feel for you man. I was actually thinking about you this morning when I saw some of the images on FB.
Stay safe and keep informed.

It's very hot and dry here too, but fortunately, there isn't much to burn for miles around Las Vegas. Just minor brush, sand, rock and cacti. No trees.

vangogh
06-27-2012, 07:22 PM
Thanks Harold. We're surrounded by things that burn and unfortunately they're now burning quickly. The potential good news is we got a little bit of rain this afternoon. By little I mean very little, but it has cooled off some and there's moisture in the air. The conditions should be better for fighting the fire. I'm not sure how the rest of the state is doing with weather, though. Today was the one day we had any chance for rain for the next week I think. After this it's back to 90+ days that are dry, dry, and drier still.

I'm actually leaving for New York in the morning. I'll be gone for a few days. I'm hoping I have some place to come back to next week. A few gusts of wind and the fire here jumps the one peak separating it from the city. I was out earlier and it's eerie seeing smoke coming off the mountain. Just so you know any device you have that automatically connects to an atomic clock to set its time is also connected to what's going on here. That atomic clock is in a building just on the other side of the mountain that's on fire.

Hopefully there's more rain through the state. They need it more than we do in Colorado Springs and Ft. Collins. Those are the two biggest fires going right now.

ayonnat
06-28-2012, 09:31 AM
vangogh, I am sorry to hear about your state being on fire. I cannot even imagine what you must be going through or what others are going through. Hopefully some rain will come your way soon to put those fires out or a least contain them. Maybe all of the heat will move this way this weekend and some rain will come your way.

KristineS
06-28-2012, 12:24 PM
Sounds like maybe they're getting some of the fires under a bit of control. The damage is going to be major though. Here's hoping some rain shows up.

Dan Furman
06-28-2012, 08:59 PM
Jeeza, hope you are ok, bud. Scary stuff. Been reading about those Beetles - terrible. There's nothing that can be done, either.

Doing a rain dance (well, not really, but the mental image made you laugh)

vangogh
06-28-2012, 10:53 PM
I'm doing ok. I'm in your state now Dan.

Boulder got some rain on Wednesday along with cooler weather and humidity. The last I heard the fire there was 30% contained. That was last night. During the day Wednesday you could see the smoke coming over the mounting. When I was leaving town this morning I didn't see anything. The fire in Colorado Springs is the really bad one at the moment. For comparison the fire up near Ft. Collins has been going for about a month and it's destroyed more buildings than any fire in history. That is until the one in Colorado Springs started on Saturday. In less than a week the number of homes destroyed is 346. The fire got out of control because of 65 mph winds. They describe it as exploding.

Here's a video from Colorado Springs on Tuesday night.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytBxLd2ia3k

The fire is 10% contained the last I heard.

KristineS
06-29-2012, 12:02 PM
The Colorado Springs fire just looks brutal. I'm sending lots of rainy thoughts in the direction of Colorado. You guys definitely need a break.

DeniseTaylor
06-29-2012, 01:31 PM
Been there, done that.

I was in a fire zone a few years ago when I lived in Los Angeles. The fire was visible from my house. We had to evacuate because the smoke was so bad. It smelled like a combination of bacon and burning rubber. Very toxic.

The fire moved out of our area in a few days, but burned for weeks in other areas. You be careful!

vangogh
07-03-2012, 11:01 PM
You know what it's like then Denise. It can get scary at time.

Things have gotten a little less scary the last few days. I was in New York, but I heard Boulder got some rain. The last I saw the fire here was 90% contained, though that was a couple of days ago. Driving back into town today there didn't seem to be any fire here that was noticeable. The fire near Ft. Collins is now 100% contained and the one in Colorado Springs is now 70% contained. Seems like the danger is over for the moment. It's still early in fire season around here and the later summer is usually worse.

No fireworks for us this year. Most of the state is canceling them given how dry it is. The authorities are going to be tougher on anyone caught using fireworks too.

Business Attorney
07-04-2012, 12:34 AM
It's dry here in Illinois, too, but thankfully no large scale fires. Grass fires here and there around the state.

Due to excessive heat and the extreme dryness, my hometown in downstate Illinois is moving its fireworks display to Labor Day weekend. Many other communties are cancelling or postponing their fireworks.

Here in Evanston, the fireworks are over Lake Michigan, which is not going to burn :)

vangogh
07-04-2012, 12:48 PM
I would hope Lake Michigan doesn't burn. It would have to be really, really dry before that would happen. :)

I think part of the reason here for canceling fireworks is to discourage people from setting off their own personal displays. Most of the nearby displays are over water so there probably isn't much danger associated with them. Canceling them though sends a signal to those wanting to have their own backyard displays. I think it's also to show empathy for all those who lost their homes and have had their lives disrupted.

KristineS
07-05-2012, 12:13 PM
We had quite a few personal fireworks displays set off in my neighborhood. Aside from being very annoying, as some people were still setting off fireworks after midnight, I have to admit I did think about fire. Nothing happened that I know of, but it was on my mind.

I figured Colorado would be canceling their displays. There's been too much damage there lately. Why take the chance?

vangogh
07-05-2012, 03:36 PM
They might have had fireworks in Denver. Someone mentioned they set them off after a Rockies game over the weekend so maybe there was no ban in effect. Denver is far enough from the dry brush in the mountains that it shouldn't have been an issue. I, on the other hand, didn't hear the sound of any fireworks here in Boulder. I have to say it didn't feel a lot like the 4th this year, though for very understandable reasons.