F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

KKTV

Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 4

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I’m writing this on Day 5, and actually have some free time, but we are on a pre-evacuation notice, which means be ready to split in 30 minutes or so. We currently have developing storms that may or may not impact the fire. We’d need 3/4 to an inch of rain. One cell coming over Pikes Peak is hoping to be one with more rain to impact the burn.

Yesterday, day 4 of the fire, was a hugely impacting day, where the blaze tripled in size, fired up and over Queen’s Canyon, and down into Colorado Springs, where all hell broke loose.

I–along with a handful of others–watched the fire from our neighborhood streets, as it burned down Queen’s Canyon eastern slope. There were near blackout conditions from the smoke as well as from the burn out that caused the total evac of Mountain Shadows, which included those we know. I was told by one of them that she actually felt the heat of the wildfire as she was evacuating her home. From our home, I stood outside watched as flames burned down the eastern slope of Queen’s Canyon, not far from Mountain Shadows. Tons of smoke, and throughout the evening, as I continually checked our property for falling embers, I found enough charred debris (found a burned aspen leaf) falling that I turned on the sprinklers and hosed down our fences and other areas I thought needed it. Later, at night, choppers with bright spots cut down through the heavily smoky air and made several low passes around the mesa east of us.

What had happened was that a storm northwest of the fire headed into the blaze, while strong winds from the south-east and south-west all pummeled the fire at the same time. The storm north of the blaze let loose 65-mph outflow winds that, combined with the southern winds, forced the fire east, and into Mountain Shadows and adjacent  areas. Officials said that it didn’t matter how many resources would have been positioned, the fire storm was simply too powerful and was flat-out unstoppable. There is still no definitive assessment of the amount of lost homes, but the video is heartbreaking.

KKTV link.

KKTV fire update link.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Days 1 and 2.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 3.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 5.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 6.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire Video Compilation.

Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 3

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If anyone has any information regarding the cause of the Waldo Canyon fire, please call 719/477-4205.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Days 1 and 2.

Twitter: #WaldoCanyonFire.

Here is the KKTV link. Excellent coverage, folks!

So far, no lives nor homes have been lost. As of this morning (I looked out a window at 3 a.m. and could see the fire’s glow), the fire has burned north from Waldo Canyon into Queen’s Canyon, continuing on its northerly direction into state forest land. It is about 5% contained (projected 100%containment of the fire is July 16th), and there are some 600 firefighters fighting the blaze that has consumed 4,500 acres. This morning the news said at one point flames are three miles away from Mountain Shadows, a residential area that has already been evacuated, but residents have been allowed back in. This is still an area of concern, if the flames run over and down the first ridge of Queen’s Canyon, into the depth of the canyon itself.

Also on the TV this morning, an airline pilot showed a shot of it he’d taken as he’d passed by it. He said the smoke plumes topped out at 33,000 feet and could be seen for 150 miles.

Last night we visited the Kissing Camel Overlook of Garden of the Gods to see what could be viewed from there of the fire (to be honest, I was also curious why authorities were concerned about people coming here to watch the fire/smoke plumes, since the media was uncharacteristically vague about why authorities were bothered, when I first heard this a couple days ago). It is normally a gorgeous view, as you will see below, but, yes, you can see plenty of smoke, and even a couple of instances of  flames (look closely at the three “20:20” time hack pictures, below). You can also see passing emergency vehicles. The concern appears to be that motorists and on-lookers will get in the way (the road is a little wider up there, with bike lanes added into the road, and everyone there was quite civil, gracious, and under control, not pulling U-turns and the like), and (I later heard) that maybe a brush fire might erupt from a tossed cigarette butt or something. I can see the bottleneck concern, but everyone pulled off as far as possible onto the shoulders and seemed quite responsible in policing their own actions. There were many who had come to see what was going on, the curiosity understandable. After all, once you get breathing room from an impending disaster, you want to try to understand it. See what it was that it or was hurtling your way. It’s only natural. So, I was pretty impressed with the amount of people, the restraint of people, the hushed awe and concern for the fire and those fighting it. There was no “carnival-like” atmosphere at all about it…these were people who were genuinely concerned about their welfare and their homes–and their neighbors’ homes. Some even shouted out “Thank you!” to the passing firefighters that drove by.

They simply wanted to see what the Big Monster looked like.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Days 1 and 2.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 4.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 5.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 6.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire Video Compilation.

Waldo Canyon Fire – Days 1 and 2

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Waldo Canyon Fire Looking over Garden of the Gods City Park

Yesterday, as I was outside working on the house and fencing, I and others saw an incredible column of smoke billowing high into the air from a fire burning to the west of town. And not very far, by the looks of the plumes. It turns out to be, what authorities are calling, The Waldo Canyon Fire (it had vacillated between the “Pyramid Mountain” and “Waldo Canyon” fires, but I guess they’ve finally reached an agreement on what to call it). It originated in Waldo Canyon, but last I checked, there is no certainty on how it started, though there has been no lightning strikes for about a week. Everyone has their hands very busy with trying to contain it. For the latest in coverage check out any of the local media, but we’re following KKTV’s, since they were first on-scene and seemed to have had the best and most accurate coverage.

Certain areas around the west side of town have been evacuated, and some have even been told it’s safe to return (at last check) but Manitou Springs is currently until a city-wide evac.

Currently our neighborhood is not in any of the evac areas, but walking around outside I took some pictures, including the chopper dumping water (I actually saw water released several times–but was unable to capture those shots). And last night was eerie, because we can easily see the undulating glow of the fires as they waned and waxed. It reminded me of the LA wildfires in 2000 and 2009. It reminded me of them, not because I was there (I wasn’t) but because everyone was talking about seeing the burning glow. They were also featured in several TV shows, like the X-Files. I always thought, how creepy–well, it is, now that I’ve actually seen it.

So, for today, Sunday, June 24th, fire crews (including Type 1 Fire Crews) do not expect to be able to contain the wildfire, but they do hope to slow it down and keep it from growing. Approximately 2000 acres have been burned, 0% containment, and the fire is now within 1/4-mile of structures, but progressing in a generally northern direction (away from our neighborhood). Heavy transports and choppers are dumping water/fire retardant (like 400 gallons a shot, I just heard on TV). Military and C-130 support is expected tomorrow.

If you look closely at some of the pictures below you’ll see the chopper.

Check out www.inciweb.org. This site was developed a national, interagency all-risk incident information management system. For more info, check out this link.

Here are some fire information numbers, that are staffed between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. MT:

720/402-7935

720/237-9947

720/237-3417.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 3.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 4.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 5.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire – Day 6.

Click here for Waldo Canyon Fire Video Compilation.