Official Thread for all 2012 Colorado Fire Season Topics (Colorado Springs, Pueblo: homeowners insurance, college)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

Unfortunately, I am stuck 9000 miles away from home and I can't do anything. The evacuation area is VERY close to my home. If the fire keeps burning to the northwest, I'll be out of danger, but god help everyone if the wind starts blowing south east. Garden of the Gods is closed off to traffic at the moment.

I may have nothing left to come home to if they cant get it under control.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, ryanek9freak.

[pamelaBeurman]

Originally Posted by whirnot

The High Park fire has been a federal fire since the first week.

I know, I meant to type "fire".

My brain just can't keep up with my fingers sometimes.

I was talking about the Waldo Canyon fire.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Katiana

You're quite the soothsayer!

I never heard that Colorado's forests were "fireproof", and I've lived here 30+ years.

I'm standing by my earlier comment. For a long time, a whole lot of people have had the attitude, "It can't happen here," followed by litany of reasons to support the statement. Well, this summer is laying waste to those assumptions. It is becoming abundantly clear that the grave concern expressed privately by a lot of Colorado emergency management people is coming true: that literally the near entirety of the Colorado mountains (as well as a lot of lower elevation areas) are now a tinderbox simply looking for an ignition source.

Also being shattered is the illusion that incorporated areas nestled against the "urban/wildland" interface can necessarily be protected in the event of a large or fast-moving wildfire. As a I said in an earlier post, this year may be a "game-changer" for Colorado, when the security of a whole lot of long-held and previously unchallenged assumptions get discredited concerning just how "safe" we are from what mischief nature can wreak when she sets her mind to it.

[pamelaBeurman]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

Unfortunately, I am stuck 9000 miles away from home and I can't do anything. The evacuation area is VERY close to my home. If the fire keeps burning to the northwest, I'll be out of danger, but god help everyone if the wind starts blowing south east. Garden of the Gods is closed off to traffic at the moment.

I may have nothing left to come home to if they cant get it under control.

The wind has died down quite a bit from what it was earlier. Hopefully they'll get a handle on this thing tonight, at least the eastern edge of it.

Prayers for you and our firefighters.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I'm standing by my earlier comment. For a long time, a whole lot of people have had the attitude, "It can't happen here," followed by litany of reasons to support the statement. Well, this summer is laying waste to those assumptions. It is becoming abundantly clear that the grave concern expressed privately by a lot of Colorado emergency management people is coming true: that literally the near entirety of the Colorado mountains (as well as a lot of lower elevation areas) are now a tinderbox simply looking for an ignition source.

Also being shattered is the illusion that incorporated areas nestled against the "urban/wildland" interface can necessarily be protected in the event of a large or fast-moving wildfire. As a I said in an earlier post, this year may be a "game-changer" for Colorado, when the security of a whole lot of long-held and previously unchallenged assumptions get discredited concerning just how "safe" we are from what mischief nature can wreak when she sets her mind to it.

Like in Australia, fire is an essential part of regenerating forests and every 30-40 years, sometimes 60-70 years you are going to have "the big one". It's inevitable and it's something that has to be planned for and lived with.

[Marcy1210]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak
Unfortunately, I am stuck 9000 miles away from home and I can't do anything. The evacuation area is VERY close to my home. If the fire keeps burning to the northwest, I'll be out of danger, but god help everyone if the wind starts blowing south east. Garden of the Gods is closed off to traffic at the moment.

I may have nothing left to come home to if they cant get it under control.

First of all, Ryan, I truly feel for you, and the helplessness of being 9000 miles away. I lived at Garden of the Gods and I-25 for ten years, while also having a home in Divide from 1975 - present. I understand the helpless feeling as we were in Divide, and evacuated during the Hayman Fire and didn't know the fate of our house from day to day. It was fine, thankfully. In fact, ten years ago today (our wedding anniversary) we stood at the summit of Pikes Peak and saw the enormity of the fire and felt so helpless knowing what was burning underneath all that dense smoke.

I've been watching KKTV on the computer from here in Tucson most of the day. I'm aware that many of the small fires in and around Divide in the last week are most likely the result of an arsonist, not dry lightning or downed power lines. I just hope that the Waldo Fire isn't his work, too.


Originally Posted by jazzlover
I'm standing by my earlier comment. For a long time, a whole lot of people have had the attitude, "It can't happen here," followed by litany of reasons to support the statement. Well, this summer is laying waste to those assumptions. It is becoming abundantly clear that the grave concern expressed privately by a lot of Colorado emergency management people is coming true: that literally the near entirety of the Colorado mountains (as well as a lot of lower elevation areas) are now a tinderbox simply looking for an ignition source.

Also being shattered is the illusion that incorporated areas nestled against the "urban/wildland" interface can necessarily be protected in the event of a large or fast-moving wildfire. As a I said in an earlier post, this year may be a "game-changer" for Colorado, when the security of a whole lot of long-held and previously unchallenged assumptions get discredited concerning just how "safe" we are from what mischief nature can wreak when she sets her mind to it.


I don't think anyone ever said Colorado's forests were fireproof. At least not anyone I know. When we built our home in Divide in 1975, the reason we chose the lot we did was because it was next to a fire hydrant and because we could clear cut a lot of the trees on the lot to make the house "firewise". Even back then, we knew we were suseptible to fire, we just assumed it would be the result of lightning, not human stupidity. In fact, we had purchased several gallons of Barricade in the late 1990's as a precaution. When the Pine Beetle and the ips beetle started destroying trees, we were even more concerned about wildfire and had our trees sprayed every year.

We also worried about fire in Woodland Park where my husband had an office behind the Donut Mill, and about our house in the Springs. We knew Woodland Park wasn't immune to fire destruction. Most people I know who live in or near the foothills, or in the mountains, are very cognizant that we live with the possibility of wildfire. I don't think we ever felt we were insulated just because we live in an urban/wildland area. Quite the contrary.

[ryanek9freak]

All of Manitou Springs under mandatory evacuation orders as of now.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

If there's going to be a megafire, wouldn't it be better to get it over with (get rid of all that fuel) instead of watching with dread until it comes?

NOT so ez in CO where it takes many decades (if ever) to recover. Would be better to actively Manage forests in areas that are already 'urban interface' (thus the incentive for planners to be a whole lot smarter and cautious when ALLOWING urban interface (houses).

Originally Posted by Idunn

Good forest management, in the wilderness, is to leave it the hell alone.

With the large (third largest in acreage burned, and threatening to be soon second) High Park Fire, authorities have repeatedly stated that their priority is in protecting structures. Perhaps it should be on the fire, instead. That is a lot of public money and effort diverted to the interests of relatively few private home owners. Each of whom chose such a location, if not what comes along with it....It is often recommended that mountain home owners create a cleared perimeter around their homes.

...Wilderness is exactly that, even if the U.S. Forest Service and a good many others choose to ignore that mandate and fact. By law official wilderness is supposed to remain "untrammeled" by mankind, which at best is often a bad joke in what they consider "left alone" as. That means no roads, no trails (widely ignored), no man-made incursions or structures of any kind—and certainly no "thinning" of the forest to park-like conditions.

I've seen what the Forest Service considers a forest suitably thinned, and the result nothing left resembling an actual diverse forest ecosystem, nor the remoteness way true wilderness.

Much of this present High Park Fire is reported to encompass private property as well as national forest. If it burns far enough west it will enter officially designated wilderness. ....

I suspect once High Park enters Wilderness, the NPS will 'let-er-burn'

Defensible Space is well taught in Larimer County and much of CO high risk areas. It is also very affective (combined with improved building materials), but never a guarantee. There are many places with high risk of wildfire (think CA and BROWN grassy hills). While I spent my 1st 25 yrs on a ranch in the High Fire area (Buckhorn Canyon), I now live (and do Defensible Space contracting) in a very risky area of PNW, which had a wild fire that burnt 239,000 acres in 36 hrs.When our DNR responds to a cabin fire, they will protect the forest and let the cabin burn.

(High Park = 80,000 acres in 336 hrs). Fortunately the terrain and density of forest at High Park is NOT as challenging as MANY high risk populated areas in Colorado. (Aspen / Vail / Winter Park, Breckenridge...). Being a few minutes flight from a variety of well equipped airports and services is alsop a HUGE plus for controlling High Park. + Very well accessed by roads and from a variety of directions. There is A LOT to be learned from this particular fire activity.


Defensible Space Info (.pdf) for those so inclined:http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5300241.pdf. Much of CO is 'Mapped' for defensible space (as is our area). If your house shows RED (on Defensible Space Map)... it WILL NOT be protected (too much risk).
Fire danger in USA (and elsewhere) is a HUGE potential problem

[Katarina Witt]

I just went outside to get the paper, and the air smelled smokier than it has since High Park started. Wow!

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I just went outside to get the paper, and the air smelled smokier than it has since High Park started. Wow!

Paper? What's that?

We wanted to keep the windows open last night but when the temp dropped below 80 it was still too smoky to open them up.