Forest fires...

[MaryL]

I live in Colorado, I am sure most people here can relate to this issue to some extent: wealthy people choose to live in what used to be pristine mountain meadows or forests that are now high risk fire zones. Apart from the other urban dwellers. We all pay taxes to help fight forest fires, I don’t think it is worth it. These jerks can just as well live here in Denver or the surrounding suburbs. As a Kid I used to be able to access the lands that are NOW being fenced off and keep us OUT. But now we have to pay taxes to fight forest fires for the people that deny us access to those lands? Something isn’t adding up here.

 

[Gracie]

Don't know about Denver, but I have a hankering for Durango for some reason. Maybe someday.

 

[MaryL]

Colorado media pays big attention when there is a six acre fire that may threaten a couple of rich Anglos homes . But the local media will ignore the attempted secession of the northern part of Colorado, the “media” ignored that like they minimize a high speed chase near my house involving dozens of officers and the risk of the lives of how many locals. Yeah, that is what happens.

 

[MaryL]

I guess this is more about how much I resent how the wealthy, real estate agents, realtors and speculators and their cadre of lawyers can manipulate things. People CHOOSE to live in the forest with the bears and cougars and poison ivy. And they choose to put themselves at so many risks, should we pay for it as taxpayers? We as a nation used to fight forest fires just to help preserve nature, not to preserve the lifestyle of the wealthy.

 

[waltky]

Seems like it was just last year that they were threatened by wildfires...

Colorado Wildfire Destroys 90 Homes As Winds Worsen
Thu Jun 13, 2013 (Reuters) - A fierce, wind-whipped wildfire destroyed more than 90 homes and menaced additional communities in and around Colorado's second-largest city on Wednesday, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

The fast-moving fire raged out of control for a second day through heavily wooded rolling hillsides on the northeastern outskirts of Colorado Springs, devouring more houses into the evening as winds sent flames doubling back into areas already burned, authorities said. "Properties that we identified as standing are now engulfed in flames so the numbers are changing as we speak," El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa told a news conference.

Jeff Stemas, 44, who fled with his wife, three dogs, a file cabinet and a computer as flames neared their house on Tuesday, learned on Wednesday from a website set up to track property losses that their home was among those destroyed. "It's a total loss," he said with quiet resignation, shrugging his shoulders. "But I expected it."

The Black Forest blaze, named for the community near where it began, prompted authorities to order more than 7,000 people from their homes, while a separate, smaller fire about 50 miles to the southwest forced the evacuation of 900 inmates from a state prison. No injuries were reported in either fire. Investigators were seeking the cause of both blazes, which started Tuesday and underscored concerns that persistent drought could intensify this year's fire season in the western United States.

Governor John Hickenlooper signed executive orders on Wednesday declaring "disaster emergencies" that set aside more than $10 million for costs related to those two fires and a third, smaller blaze about 90 miles south of Colorado Springs. By evening, the Black Forest fire had charred an estimated 8,500 acres and was expected to scorch at least a further 3,000 acres, defying efforts by some 500 firefighters to contain it. "It's a very hot, very active, difficult fire," El Paso County spokesman Dave Rose said.

TOWERS OF SMOKE AND FLAMES

 

[editec]

US Drought Monitor

Damned near everyplace west of the Mississippi is in some stage of drought condition.

I suspect that this is normal for those regions

Nature does not care about your houses.

Nature laughs at mankind's feeble attempts to control those fires.

Plan accordingly

 

[waltky]

Colorado wildfire turns deadly...

2 found dead in area burned by Colo. wildfire
Jun 13,`13 -- A voracious wildfire driven in all directions by shifting winds has killed two people and destroyed at least 360 homes - a number that was likely to climb as the most destructive blaze in Colorado history burned for a third day through miles of tinder-dry woods, a sheriff said Thursday.

The destruction northeast of Colorado Springs has surpassed last June's Waldo Canyon fire, which burned 347 homes, killed two people and caused $353 million in insurance claims just 15 miles to the southwest. The heavy losses were blamed in part on explosive population growth in areas with historically high fire risk. "I never in my wildest dreams imagined we'd be dealing a year later with a very similar circumstance," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, who drew audible gasps as he announced the number of homes lost to the blaze in Black Forest. The fire was 5 percent contained.

Maketa said one person who was reported missing Wednesday was found safe, but crews on Thursday found the remains of two other people who appeared to be trying to flee. The victims were found in a garage in Black Forest. "The car doors were open as if they were loading or grabbing last-minute things," Maketa said. Earlier in the day, residents were ordered to leave 1,000 homes in Colorado Springs. Thursday's evacuation was the first within the city limits. About 38,000 other people living across roughly 70 square miles were already under orders to get out.

An AmeriCorps volunteer firefighter assigned to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Woodland Fire Crew, helps contain a spot fire in an evacuated area of forest, ranches and residences, in the Black Forest wildfire area, north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, June 13, 2013. According to officials, at least 360 homes have been burned, and 38,000 people have been evacuated since the fire began earlier in the week.

Colorado's second-largest city, with a population of 430,000, also asked residents of 2,000 more homes to be ready to evacuate. The streets became gridlocked with hundreds of cars while emergency vehicles raced by on shoulders. Gene Schwarz, 72, said he had never fully unpacked after last year's fires. He and his neighbors wondered whether open space grassland to the north of them could be a barrier from the flames. "It doesn't matter because a spark can fly over from anywhere," said Schwarz.

Hot, gusty winds fanned the 24-square-mile wildfire, sending it into new areas and back into places that had previously been spared. Even investigators sent in to determine the cause of the fire were pulled out for safety reasons. The Red Cross said more than 800 people stayed at shelters. Black Forest, where the blaze began, offers a case study in the challenges of tamping down wildfires in Colorado and across the West, especially with growing populations, rising temperatures and a historic drought.

MORE

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

I'm jealous of rich people, too. Seriously, I am. Every single problem I have right now would be solved by money.

 

[MeBelle]

I live in Colorado, I am sure most people here can relate to this issue to some extent: wealthy people choose to live in what used to be pristine mountain meadows or forests that are now high risk fire zones. Apart from the other urban dwellers. We all pay taxes to help fight forest fires, I don’t think it is worth it. These jerks can just as well live here in Denver or the surrounding suburbs. As a Kid I used to be able to access the lands that are NOW being fenced off and keep us OUT. But now we have to pay taxes to fight forest fires for the people that deny us access to those lands? Something isn’t adding up here.

You're right!

Major fire erupts in Royal Gorge area: 3,800 acres burning - Canon City Daily Record

Royal Gorge Fire Update: Disaster Declaration Issued Today - Canon City Daily Record

Evacuations lifted, U.S. 50 open - Canon City Daily Record