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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Fire Update

We are all fine.  We are grateful to be safe and to have dear friends that offered help.  Thank you too, blogger friends, for your best wishes and concern.  Fundy, thank you for offering to put Boomer in your suburban backyard.  It gave me a much-needed lift!

This has been Colorado's worst fire.  25 square miles burned, over 500 homes were destroyed, and 2 people lost their lives.  The fire is 85% contained.  There are still about 2,600 people under mandatory evacuation. 

At the height of the fire, the mandatory evacuation extended to about 2 miles south of us.  We were packed and ready to leave.

Bob's white truck and trailer for Boomer and Ben
Our truck and trailer for Paj and Reggie,
ready to roll
 
Don't be fooled by the clear sky in the photo.  We had moments of clear skies, but periods of pea-soup smoke.  Paj, with his airborne allergies, spent the week on Neo-Poly-Dex for his eyes, Dexamethasone for his labored breathing, and GastroGard for stress.  In hindsight, I should have boarded that boy out for the duration.  But that's stressful too.
 
What's that, Mickey?  You want me to tell everybody your eyes hurt too?  Okay.  Little Mickey kept rubbing his eyes.  He acted fatigued, and we were worried about him.
 
As soon as they pushed the mandatory evacuation zone farther away from us, we invited Once Upon an Equine to move her horses to neighbor Chuck's.  Once Upon an Equine had been evacuated to the fairgrounds, and Chuck had empty stalls.  He was on the road with 3 of his horses while David and I took care of his ranch.  Chuck was happy for us to host Misty, Lola and Lyra.
 
Misty, Lyra and Lola
 
Lola, the mini-mule, is loaded with personality.
While Misty and Lyra munched hay,
 
Lola was after that last piece of grain that Misty may have left.
 
No grain!
She stomped her little hoof to show her displeasure.
What a character!
 
Lola helped me with the cleaning.
 
Once Upon an Equine was able to go home last night.  Their home is safe and untouched by the fire.  For me, today is the first day that feels normal.  I spent most of it sleeping.
 
Jim, I need an in-case-of-fire relaxation technique.  When I tried "I am a log", that little voice added "and we all know what happens to logs in a fire".
 

 
 

31 comments:

Mare said...

So glad everyone is safe! I can't even imagine going through something that scary! Go get your rest!

Once Upon an Equine said...

Thank-you very much for finding my sweet girls a safe place to stay after the Evac center in Elbert closed. And thank-you for looking after them. I can tell they were very comfortable there. I'm glad Lola helped with the chores (she likes to stay busy). I love the picture of her trying to get the last pellet out of the feeder (she's very food motivated). And yes, I've seen that foot stomp before. She is a very opinionated little girl. Many, many thanks to you and David and Chuck.

I hope you got a good long nap. I'm exhausted and taking a sick day tomorrow so I can just stay in bed and recuperate from the stress and lack of sleep.

My husband and I passed through some of the burned areas as we were checking on some families. Such a sad sight to see the charred earth, blackened trees/sticks, and many properties with only a chimney standing. Some areas remain closed and we saw firefighters still actively engaged in finding hot spots. Apparently a tree can look just fine from the outside, but it may have a fire burning inside the trunk, working its way up to the crown. The Pros know how to find those. Amazing.

SheMovedtoTexas said...

Lola is precious!!!! I have never seen a mini mule before! Glad y'all are safe.

Fundy Blue said...

Terry and David, I am so relieved that you and all the four-legged ones are safe ~ even Reggie! It is so sad to think of what that fire has done to so many people, especially those who lost their lives. I can't imagine losing my home. I'm glad that my Boomer offer gave you a boost. I've certainly been thinking of you all. Your equine guests were cute, especially Lola. I hope you feel rested and back to normal very soon.

Ruth said...

So glad everything is ok!! It must have been such a scary experience.

Dreaming said...

So cute!
I am so thankful that the fire has been brought under control and no longer threatens outside areas.

The Dancing Donkey said...

So glad all of you are safe and this terrible fire is finally coming under control.

Lori Skoog said...

Terry...Cyndi has been keeping me posted regarding Moondance. Very happy to see your post tonight. Such a tragedy for those who lost everything, not to mention lost animals and stress.

Angelikas Photographic Sketchbook said...

Glad to hear you are ok. I went to bed yesterday thinking of you and of how different our daily realities are.

Em Parkinson said...

Thank goodness you're all okay. Love the mini-mule....just what I need as a companion for my pony!

Ruth said...

I have left an award for you on my blog. Head over there now to see it :)

Kay G. said...

TWO miles away, that is so very close!! Thank GOD you are okay!!
I LOVE that your kept those animals, and you are right, that LOLA is a character, you have captured that in the photos!!

So happy you and your animals are safe and sound. I feel so much for those who have suffered losses. xx

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

Glad the worst is over. Get some good rest!

Unknown said...

so glad everyone is ok.

Zanzibah Alpacas said...

Great to hear you are all OK ! Sounds too close for comfort, I can only imagine. Fingers crossed for the coming days ...those horses are sooooo lucky to have such dedicated owners, I think I'd be digging a big moat !!under the circumstances ..its scary ...Jayne

Dream Valley Ranch said...

Wow-Terry-so so happy you are safe but how frightening and stressful all around! I am sending a huge hug and hoping this will be the only scare you guys will have this summer. We are in a drought and everyone is on edge-but we rarely have winds so the worries do not compare to when we were in Colorado. Sending lots of love and special squishes to sweet Mickey and Paj! (And everyone else too!)
Xoxo
Sue

A Brit in Tennessee said...

So very happy to read you are all OK.
My heart goes out to all that have lost, in this devastation, especially those families who have lost loved-ones.
My Colorado Springs, doesn't look the same any longer :(
Thank you for all the help and care you have both extended to others.
Hugs,
~Jo

JJ said...

How incredibly stressful, scary and exhausting that must be. I'm so happy to hear that the immediate danger has passed.

Dom said...

Echoing what everyone else said. Glad you're safe!

Cricket said...

I was worried about you. I figure I need to buy a horse trailer just so we can help out in situations like this. Glad everyone is okay.

Jim said...

Terry, so glad that it has receded somewhat. You guys must be exhausted!
What a turmoil to go through.
Terry, I do have a relaxation technique that works so well for us. It is a series of 7 Qi Gong movements and can be done anywhere. I'll see if I can find a link for you. I'll email it if I do. Until then, focus on the breath.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Terry I am so glad that you and yours animals are safe and you have so dear friends that offered help to you. To have solidary friends is really a blessing.
Many hugs and take care.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Love your banner picture! So beaufiful!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

So glad to hear that everyone is safe. Must be so scary to go through this!

Inger said...

Terry, I'm so glad you are OK. Of course you are tired, but you haven't lost your sense of humor (the log). I have been thinking of you and David and reading Cyndi's posts. That was a close call. I hope your horses and little Mickey are feeling better. Samson is on that Neo-Poly-Dex every other day since he got that disease whatever it is called that made him go blind for a while. He is OK now and I hope Paj will get better soon. I bet you will sleep like a log once you are able to relax. Take care ~ Inger

Wolfie said...

Great news that you and yours are OK. I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster you have been on lately.

I know you have other things on your mind, but I have nominated you for a Liebster Award. :-) Come visit when things settle down for you. http://wolfie-whatwasithinking.blogspot.ca

Al said...

What great critters! We were evacuated for this fire, but fortunately didn't lose our home. It came within a few streets of us.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Just stopping by to wishing you all a pleasant Sunday!

Anonymous said...

Hi Terry, I am Fundy (Louise's) sister Barb - I don't have a google/gmail account so I have to use Anonymous. This is my first visit to you blog - I really enjoyed it ... I love horses and do not fear them like my sister. I am glad you are all safe from the fires. We have been having serious flooding in my home province of Alberta and people have been busy helping out all the people and animals in harms way. I visit Colorado a couple of times a year and the geography and people are very much the same as home - which is probably why I love to come and visit your State!
Cheers from Calgary Alberta - where come H* or high water, the Calgary Stampede starts in 10 days - ye haw :D
Barb

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I hope everything is well and that all the fires have subsided!!

Angelikas Photographic Sketchbook said...

Glad you kept your humour. Well done you all for going through this and coming out on the other end with a sense of humour. What a scary and terrible experience. Well wishes from London!