Stand By
Our local weather sucks:
Colorado’s so-called Waldo Canyon fire sent a mushroom cloud of smoke nearly 20,000 feet (6,100 metres) into the air over Colorado Springs near Pikes Peak, whose breathtaking vistas from the summit helped inspire the song “America the Beautiful”.
Closer to the blaze, which has been fanned by winds blowing into the Southern Rockies from the prairies to the east, trees were visibly twisting from the heat of the flames.
The latest evacuations brought the total number of people forced from their homes to about 12,000 as the blaze posed a renewed threat to hundreds of dwellings and appeared to have roared to within about a mile (1.6 km) of the U.S. Air Force Academy grounds in Colorado Springs.
The USAFA isn’t that far south of here. It’s on the opposite side of I-25, which should serve as a decent firebreak.
We’re signed up for all the reverse-911 and text alerts and all the rest. I have the family photo archives and whatnot on external drives I can grab in a hurry. We’ve already made arrangements for the dog and the cat, just in case.
It’s not panic-time here. But it is time to take sensible precautions, which is exactly what we’re doing. If we do have to pack up an go, follow my Twitter feed for more fire updates.
UPDATE: Please allow me to apologize in advance for the language I’m about to use.
Fuck you, Reuters.
The fire started it Waldo Canyon. It’s a wildfire. So there’s not one damn thing “so-called” about the Waldo Canyon Fire. That’s just exactly what the hell it is, capiche?
We don’t need any clever “one man’s wildfire is another man’s chance to make s’mores” formulations tonight. The place I love, the place I’ve called home for almost 20 years — it’s on fire.
So bite me, Reuters.
Be safe. Prayers going out to all of you who are too near the disaster. And pay no attention to that so called “Reuters”… until they prove they exist I don’t believe in them… Reuters? What kind of a name is that?
Steve, we’re praying for your family’s safety and the safety of everyone impacted by these fires. It truly is a tragedy to see such beautiful country go up im smoke. Stay safe.
Our prayers, concerns, and best wishes are with you.
Keep safe. It sounds like you’ve already taken all the obvious precautions. If/when they tell you to evacuate, get the hell out, and don’t come back until they tell you it’s safe.
It can be a pretty surreal experience. Some years ago, living in Montrose CA, we had the Angeles Crest burning right above us. It looked closer than it was. It was extremely weird to watch the hill on fire, with a line of cars in the drivethrough at Taco Bell in the foreground (not kidding).
We’re hoping i-25 acts as a fire break too. Right now it’s blowing your way, not ours, but you know how fast the wind changes. Our issue is the outdoors semi-feral. IF we have to evacuate, we’ll have to corral him.
Stay safe. All of you, including semi-feral.
Hey Steve, keep safe. I live 10 miles west of David Nicholas, and remember the mountains burning. Take care of the ones you love.
Stay safe Steve. I know you will make the best possible decisions for your family’s welfare but still your extended online family worries. My best wishes and concerns also go out to all those in Colorado who are under threat tonight. I sincerely hope that these fires can be contained with no further loss of life or property. Godspeed Y’all.
Wishing you and all others in the area good luck.
Mother Nature can be brutal. Having a plan is good. We down here in hurricane country know how she can interrupt normal life and being prepared makes a humongous difference.
Once the shit hits the fan there’s not many options or much time to react.
But, I must admit, I’d rather hunker down for a hurricane than a blazing fire.
We’re in it with you, smelling of smoke, eyes burning from the acrid air and the tears. Our landmarks are in flames. Our neighbors are grieving. Our hearts are breaking with theirs. Our prayers are for relief and comfort for those who are most directly affected and for generosity and strength for those who can help.
Steve, I wish you all the best. I’m sure the Coloradans are pulling together to fight and care for each other. As a Southern Californian, I’ve been through it and I know it’s almost impossible to describe.
Steve,
As the others have said, be safe. I’m glad you have a plan of action, and are ready to implement it. Looking forward to reading your work when things settle out.
Be safe, Stephen and all Coloradans.
I suspect the Reuters formulation was innocent enough, to their British audience in particular, many outside the US are uncomfortable with casual naming conventions of this sort. I would write this one down to snooty British uptight language usage rules rather than any intent to minimalize the impact of a terrible situation.