Last year we had the Waldo Canyon fire and several people on the forum asked me whether we were affected by it (we were, but only in a mild way). I was touched and impressed by how well some of us here keep a lookout for others in our community.
One person has already asked me if the current slate of fires is putting us in danger, so I thought I would let everyone know where things stand.
I am presently living in the Denver area during the week and going home on weekends, so when I got an e-mail from my wife saying, "Fire!!! We have wildfires here!!!" I was a bit concerned (and that is the exact contents of her e-mail). My first thought was, "Why the hell are you wasting time e-mailing me, get your ass off the mountain!". I called home, where my stepmom was watching our daughter, and she wasn't aware of anything burning on the mountain. It turns out that she sent the e-mail from school (yesterday was the first day of the summer class she is taking) and so she didn't know if the fires were threatening "our" mountain or not and she was freaking a bit herself.
The good news (for us) is that the nearest fire, the Black Forest fire, probably won't become an issue for is. It is actually significantly closer to us than the Waldo Canyon fire ever got (and for which we were on pre-evac notice), but it is on the other side of I-25, which is a pretty effective fire break, and the prevailing winds are the other direction. But my former boss has a house that, when I checked last night, was just three blocks outside of the mandatory evaculation zone and in the same stand of trees that the fire was in.
I just checked right now and the evacuation zone has grown hugely, but only slightly to the west. It is now at the very end of my former boss's street, perhaps 100 yards from his house. His home is a beautiful 7400sf home and it would be a shame to see it burn -- but there have already been scores of even larger and more beautiful homes that have been reduced to cinders. I haven't been able to get in touch with him, but have left messages letting him know that he can stay with us if the worst happens.
I'll post updates as things develop.
One person has already asked me if the current slate of fires is putting us in danger, so I thought I would let everyone know where things stand.
I am presently living in the Denver area during the week and going home on weekends, so when I got an e-mail from my wife saying, "Fire!!! We have wildfires here!!!" I was a bit concerned (and that is the exact contents of her e-mail). My first thought was, "Why the hell are you wasting time e-mailing me, get your ass off the mountain!". I called home, where my stepmom was watching our daughter, and she wasn't aware of anything burning on the mountain. It turns out that she sent the e-mail from school (yesterday was the first day of the summer class she is taking) and so she didn't know if the fires were threatening "our" mountain or not and she was freaking a bit herself.
The good news (for us) is that the nearest fire, the Black Forest fire, probably won't become an issue for is. It is actually significantly closer to us than the Waldo Canyon fire ever got (and for which we were on pre-evac notice), but it is on the other side of I-25, which is a pretty effective fire break, and the prevailing winds are the other direction. But my former boss has a house that, when I checked last night, was just three blocks outside of the mandatory evaculation zone and in the same stand of trees that the fire was in.
I just checked right now and the evacuation zone has grown hugely, but only slightly to the west. It is now at the very end of my former boss's street, perhaps 100 yards from his house. His home is a beautiful 7400sf home and it would be a shame to see it burn -- but there have already been scores of even larger and more beautiful homes that have been reduced to cinders. I haven't been able to get in touch with him, but have left messages letting him know that he can stay with us if the worst happens.
I'll post updates as things develop.