Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Dante's Inferno? No, Waldo Canyon Wildfire!

I am gonna skip over two pending blog posts to create one for the Current wildfire close to my family.

This wildfire called the Waldo Canyon Wildfire started around 12 noon Saturday June 23, 2012. It was up above Scenic Rte 24 and was not threatening any structures at the time, but the black plume of smoke would suggest otherwise....
So I grabbed my camera and started documenting the scene....Click on all photos to show larger version's...


 This over my home Saturday 2pm


Blodgett Peak Open Space

Blodgett Peak Open Space parking lot

Ok, Sunday ... I went out shooting photos w/ an evacuated friend I helped out, This is from a different vantage point...


Among the devastation, I saw this...





My friend was allowed back home and I caught this coming back from Manitou...


Now Monday... Its soooo Hot and hazy, you hate to be in your home, so I grabbed my camera again....

Near Garden of the God's on a road to an overlook of the area...
C-130's have be called and responded (2 on Monday, 3 on Tuesday) plus private tanker planes, and 2 water bucket/hose Helicopter's.


They worked all day, no breaks.

That night I captured these...


Blodgett Peak after sundown..
.

Tuesday, Everything was still ok, until 4:45PM, The winds around 45mph made the fire jump the Canyon referred to Queen's Canyon, our hopeful barrier from the neighborhoods below...

From my area mall, top level of the parking garage, looking at Pikes Peak. (peak to left under blue skies)

Rock Quarry I can see from Courtney's bedroom window.

Right before I ran out of the area, this wall of ash and smoke enveloped us and made the roads invisible and air un-breathable. ( above photo- white spots are ash) I took a few belongings, my puppy and headed to my mom's for a while to breathe air conditioned air, and was watching the news at their house. We were packed in case we decided to head to a friends in Falcon, CO for the night.

Took this when I decided to try returning home for the night, everything ok so far...


Map of the fire, perimeter, and the 3 dots/x's are my family's homes....

I'll update this if I am able to see anything new, but due to the 32,000= evacuee's, and closed roads, etc.... I can't really go anywhere. It's too smokey to go out too.

Pray for us, for rain, for no more homes and structures to burn down.

STATS
 (updated just now 8:45pm Monday July 2nd, 2012)

Containment as of now = 25% (Friday June 29) - (update - 70% on July 2nd)
Acres burned =17,000
Predicted Date of possible containment of fire = July 16th?.
2 Lives lost (from same home), 10 people not accounted for.
Flying W Ranch (area attraction, in business for 59 years) is GONE.
Homes Gone= 347
June 29, 2012 - President Obama toured the burned neighborhoods in Mnt. Shadows,
then thanked the Firefighters in CSFD #9 on G.O.G Rd and
ended his visit at the YMCA evacuee shelter on Jet Wing Drive from 12:30pm - 3:00PM
Updates - (July 1st and 2nd) - roads are open, some attraction's open, and a lot of neighborhoods cleared for returning owners. 



Ok -  Updated map from the news channel KKTV
2:45pm Wednesday June 27, 2012