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Monday, June 25, 2012

Heat Wave and Fires

It's hot.  Denver broke a record at 106 degrees today.  Our elevation is 1,600' higher than Denver's, so we stay about 10 degrees cooler year round.  True to form, we were in the mid 90s today.  We haven't had a drop of rain since June 1, and our pastures are crunchy dry.  It's hard to complain too much when there are so many forest fires throughout the state, and so many homes have burned.  We had a small fire (600 acres) fairly close to us.  After two air drops today, it is 90% contained.

The news isn't as good on the Colorado Springs fire.  It has burned 3,400 acres, and is at 5% containment.  Here's what it looks like from our porch -

Pike's Peak is southwest of our ranch.
The smoke billows north, and then veers east as it rises.

This is the smoke we see looking east.
That cloud-like stuff in the header is smoke too.

Smoke is one of the many things that Paj is allergic to.  I am putting prescription ointment in his eyes every day.  So far, we haven't had a blocked tear duct, and his breathing is okay. 

My brother Tom and sister-in-law Pat are flying to Colorado Springs on Saturday to visit Pat's father.  He lives very close to the fire area, and at 98 years old, I am very glad they will be with him.

Colorado's biggest fire is the High Park fire northwest of Fort Collins.  It has burned 83,000 acres and destroyed 248 homes. 

Looking back, maybe winter wasn't so bad after all.





10 comments:

IanH said...

We're following the fires on TV. Let's pray that you folks get some rain soon! Stay safe.

Ruth said...

Gosh, hope you get some rain soon. We should trade a little of our rain for a little of your sun.

sally said...

By golly it all sounds a bit scary. I hope the rain comes soon to ease the fire worries. Maybe we should puff some over from NZ. It has rained inches today.....quite revolting really. Stay safe

Carly said...

Fires are so scary. :( When I lived in Australia we had a huge one sweep through near the Traralgon/Rosedale area. After it was contained we took a drive through to take a look (since I hadn't seen the damage a fire could cause yet). It made me cry.

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

I was thinking about you guys as I listened to updates on the fires. Glad you're out of harm's way.

We've had several big fires here in eastern NC the last few years. There's one right now actually. They are nothing like those massive forest fires you're having thank goodness. Ours are marsh fires. Extremely stinky and super hard to put all the way out - they can burn under ground - but thankfully not located in populated areas. It's just hard to breathe when the wind blows a certain direction.

Hoping you get cooler temps and rain asap.

JJ said...

Oh Terry, how scary(rhymes by coincidence)! It's good that the fire near you is 90% contained, here's hoping they get it fully contained asap! Hope Paj continues with no block ducts and that the rain Gods bring some rain to you soon!

Oak Creek Ranch said...

Horrible, horrible fires in Colorado right now. I hope the wind keeps them far, far away from you.

Inger said...

Those fires are so scary and I was wondering where you lived in relation to them. So thanks for this post. I couldn't imagine being 98 years old and living close to a big fire like that. When my husband worked in Los Angeles, I lived alone here most of the time for about five years. I was only afraid of one thing: Fires.

Kate said...

I have been thinking about you a lot. I am glad you are ok. Must be very scary to have the fires so close.

Rodger Ciliberto said...

It’s a good thing your ranch is far away from the wildfire. Those fires are difficult to control when they have already started, except for the smaller ones. In times like these, the rain seems to take so long before it comes along and washes down the wildfire. Be careful and remind your friends and family to always be alert.