Colorado fires

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frostback

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Feb 7, 2007
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Colorado
This is really hard to think about but 32000 people are evacuated from Colorado Springs and then lightning started another fire near Boulder and 2500 people are on pre-evact notice and I am not sure how many are still evacuated in the High Park fire in Ft. Collins. Scary year.
 

chambero

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Feb 12, 2007
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Texas
Our prayers go out to you folks and to the wildland firegighters that are working so hard.  Co Springs is one of my favorite cities. 
 

kanshow

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May 24, 2007
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Kansas
Frostie.. was thinking about you and cowz today..  How far are you from the fires?  I know Cowz is close..

Praying for rain and relief for you.
 

frostback

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Colorado
Cowz was real close to the Elbert fire. A mile or so she said but she is due east of the Colorado Springs(Waldo) and is getting smoke and ash from it. I am not sure how far away but seems a long way to get ash, a hour or so.
I am due east of the new one near Boulder but it would have to go through 2 towns to get to my place. I am not even getting smoke from any of them but that may change at any time.
I have friends that came less than a mile from losing everything from the State line fire near Darango. A recently run pivot of hay and a shift in the wind was the only thing that saved them. They were ready to turn the cows into the river and pray.
Forcasting more thunder storms today and that means more lightning and wind and little chance of rain.
 

trevorgreycattleco

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Mar 22, 2010
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Centerburg, Ohio
What a horrible deal. I couldn't imagine having to run the cows to the river. Glad they escaped. We don't have many fires if any around here so I have no clue what that's like
 

willow

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Jan 8, 2011
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Frostback, I hope you manage to escape the damage.  We are on the west slope and haven't seen much in the way of fires in our area yet.  Just really hot and no moisture.  One good lightning storm and we are gonna be hurting.  They are talking about shutting down one of the valley's main sources of irrigation in July.  If that really happens we are pretty messed around here.  We have friends in the Springs wow it is really scary.  Well best of luck to you and your cattle.  Stay safe.
 

Gargan

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Feb 24, 2011
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West Virginia
how is the gunnison, lake fork, blue mesa area for fires? just curious . elk hunted that area before.
 

frostback

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Feb 7, 2007
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Colorado
There have been too many to keep track of them all. I do belieave that area is good so far. It is only June, we have 2 more months of major fire season.
 

iowabeef

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Iowa
Sitting in a motel room in Grand Island Nebraska on our way home to Iowa tonight from visiting my nephew's family in Colorado Springs.  We went out last Thursday and were planning to stay until tomorrow.  He lives about 3 blocks from Garden of The Gods...about 1 block from the early evacuations.  I have never witnessed an event first hand soooooooooooo amazingly frightening.  We stood outside in his yard and watched this thing develop from Saturday until we were evacuated last night.  Thankfully they and their home are fine.  We were standing outside yesterday literally watching homes erupt into flames infront of our eyes about 10 blocks away.  The smoke plume cloud looked like a nuclear attack at times and then other times it completely blanketed the entire city.  I used to like the smell of bonfires......I think I have had my fill.  To watch how unpredictable and immensely helpless something like this makes you feel was a life changing experience.  For us it was a trip to visit family, we were able to leave, but for those people it is real and final.  Please think of them. I will try and post my pictures when I get home tomorrow. 
 

willow

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Gargan, I have not heard of any fires in Gunnison, Blue Mesa, etc.  We do now have fires on my side of the mountain (Utah side of CO) because of lightning and that is all it is going to take to start more.  Our hills are in such bad, bad need of rain.  We have a few acres outside of a small town here in CO and we lease more in two other locations in the same town and as of yesterday we have had our water cut in all of those locations.  Scary times and it will be worse next year unless we get some serious snow pack this winter.  I am lucky because our cattle are a hobby and not our livelyhood.  My heart breaks for those who are fighting a real battle of trying to make it work.  Pray for rain! 
 

aj

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Jul 5, 2006
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western kansas
I heard one guy on a progressive radio station say today that he thought the military ought to bomb firelines in front of the approaching firelines. Sounds kinda goofy but would it work? Kinda like blowing out an oil well fire. Course with homes around maybe not. Carpet bombing the rocky mountains would really tick the tree huggers off but maybe even the peoples republic of boulder might go for it. Or maybe drift a little off course and bomb Boulder. Whoops didn't work so well.
 

GoWyo

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Wyoming
AJ - bombing the fire perimeter would only cause spotting and scattering of the fire into unburned areas.  Would be a dumb idea.  Once a forest fire is into the "1000-hour fuels" it takes a long time to cool off and go out.  Once they cut a line around it, they still have to work in from the perimeter and start mopping up the "smokes" by digging up the ground cover and roots and anything else that is hot and putting water on them and digging and stirring until cooled off.  There are no shortcuts to cutting line, performing back fires and digging up hot spots.
 

firesweepranch

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SW MO
My husband was a full time career CDF er (California department of Fire and Forestry) for 26 years, until 7 years ago when an injury sustained on a fire permanently retired him. He has been all over the US fighting fire, and it is an ugly beast to battle. AJ, it sounds like the station was talking about setting backfires, which work well in a controlled environment. "Bombing" is not controlled. From what I gather, there are a lot of dead trees (from the beetle) that really need to burn, which is helping fuel the intensity of the fires in CO. This is a battle that man can not win, only hopefully salvage homes and valuable places. Mother nature is cleaning out her forest, it is just unfortunate that there is loss to home and life. Firefighters are putting their lives on the line to save what they can, I just pray that the damage is minimal.

So, ever wonder where we got our ranch name  ??? ::) ;) It's in my blood; my dad was a smoke jumper!
 

chambero

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Texas
In my opinion, what wildland firefighters do is infinitely more dangerous on a routine basis than organized city fire departments.  I wish those guys got the same type of benefits other firemen do.  There isn't always an easy way out if things get out of control where these guys work.  And it aint 24 on, 24 off or however most fire departments work.  These guys move from fire to fire all season long.
 

firesweepranch

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SW MO
chambero said:
In my opinion, what wildland firefighters do is infinitely more dangerous on a routine basis than organized city fire departments.  I wish those guys got the same type of benefits other firemen do.  There isn't always an easy way out if things get out of control where these guys work.  And it aint 24 on, 24 off or however most fire departments work.  These guys move from fire to fire all season long.

I agree with  you! They had it worked out pretty good in the CDF (now Cal Fire). Most were seasonal, but CDF staffed the stations that were between cities, or in areas where cities could not pay for protection themselves,  and in the CA mountains where fire activity is high, so there were always firefighters on duty. My husband did his time as a seasonal, and got his paramedic license so he could stay employed year round (72 on, 4 off). I hardly saw him in the summers, gone for two weeks at a time on wild land fires, going from one to the next. To hear the sadness in his voice over loss of property and life was tough at times, but it was his calling. It is a special person who goes out there and does that. Age slowed him down, and caught up with him, but let me tell you he still wants to be out there fighting right next to the next guy, it is in his blood. Like trying to retire a race horse, they still want to race!
I tired it (volunteered at the local station here in MO for 3 years), not my cup of tea. Every time I went into a burning building, I could not stop thinking of my kids and why was I doing this! I am better with support outside; water, re-hydration, and first responder duties. I like fire, just do not like to run into it!  ;D
 
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