"F" is for FIRE

My Alphabe Thursday post is sad today! Please stop by Ms. Jenny's and join this weekly meme! She is very dedicated to each one of us and everyone shares such wonderful posts. Many creative, funny, interesting,  and exciting posts showing off many different talents.

I am a Colorado native and I love my home state. We are currently surrounded by wildfires. The closest one the Flagstaff fire is burning 20 minutes away from us in Boulder. It is so frightening. We know many people who live near many of these fires and the devastation and destruction is unbelievably sad.

Take the Flying W Ranch. It wasn't just a tourist attraction. It was part of the history in the Pikes Peak region. It was a dude ranch and the entertainment and cowboy suppers were awesome. As a young child I always told my dad I wanted to go there. He would chuckle and ask me what I thought I would do there! I always had high aspirations to model after one of my favorite childhood heroines Annie Oakley! I figured we shared a first name and she was ultra cool with her fancy gun slinging and her most famous trick was being able to repeatedly split a playing card, edge on,  and put several more holes in it before it could touch the ground, using a 22 caliber rifle, at 90 feet!

So my fascination with cowboys and gals always lead me to fantasize about being a cowgirl like her! The Flying W Ranch burnt to the ground in the midst of the Waldo Canyon Fire. It was a very sad day for me when I heard it!

Fires raging all around us. The Waldo Canyon fire gained national attention because of its close proximity to Pikes Peak and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Our commander in chief will travel there on Friday to survey the damage.

The High Park fire is the second largest fire in Colorado history. As of Monday it has consumed 83.205 acres and destroyed 248 homes. My friend who lives in Loveland said it is eerie to go to your car in the morning and see it covered with black ash. She said she feels like we are living during the end of the world! This fire burns approximately fifty miles from my home.

The Waldo Canyon fire  is burning out of control. Currently it has destroyed 3,600 acres. It is very close to many wonderful Colorado tourist attractions. My favorite city of Manitou Springs was evacuated but many of those folks were able to return home. It is a quaint little town with many wonderful shoppes and lots of nearby tourist attractions like Santa's Workshop at the base of Pikes Peak and the Garden of the God's.Manitou Springs refuses to become a "gambling mecca" and the townspeople have stood their ground. There is nothing worse, in my opinion, than towns giving up their charm for gambling! Ugh! On a side note I am pretty sure Native American Indians such as Chief Ouray of the Ute Tribe, Little BigHorn and Sitting Bull would certainly be saddened to see what today's culture has turned to. The F.B.I.is currently involved in this fire as there is suspicion that it was caused due to criminal activity! This area is home to NORAD, Peterson A  F Base, The Air Force Academy and Fort Carson and many tourist attractions as I previously mentioned.

 This Garden of the Gods photo was taken a few months ago. My niece Karla shot this photo.

The Little Sand fire is burning  in the San Juan National Forest. This one has been burning for more than one month and consumed 21,616 acres and is 31% contained. It is 13 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs and it is believed to have been started by lightening in the San Juan National Forest.

The Treasure fire has been burning since this past Saturday. It is near Leadville, Colorado  which is situated at 10,152 feet above sea level. It is way higher than where I live, in the Denver metro area which is merely only a mile high! This fire is ten percent contained and is believed to have been human caused .

The Springer fire is one hundred percent contained. It burned near Lake George and destroyed 1145 acres. No structures were burned and only two minor human injuries reported.

The CR102 fire was considered one hundred percent contained but currently it is only seventy five percent contained. It has burned 300 acres and firefighters have difficulty fighting this fire due to rugged terrain.

The State Line fire is burning near the Colorado and New Mexico border near Durango, Colorado. Durango is home to Fort Lewis College and is a lovely and very charming town surrounded by the beauty of majestic moutain ranges. This fire burns 350 acres and is fifteen percent contained.

The Weber fire near Mancos in the Four Corners region at the base of Mesa Verde National Park. It is rapidly tripling in size and 100 homes and a campground have been evacuated.

The Woodland Heights fire is currently one hundred percent contained. This is in Estes Park and it has destroyed 22 homes and two out buildings.

The Trout Creek fire was burning in the Pike National Forest. 155 pre evacuation notices were sent out on Sunday but reports claim it is not 100 percent contained.

This fabulous photo is a 1940 photo of the Trout Creek Pass Highway near Buena Vista, Colorado. The Trout Creek fire is about 159 miles from Pagosa Springs where the fire burned. I could not bear to post one more image of the fires but with friends so near the devastation here are a few others:

The fire from Mary's kitchen window, Colorado Springs, Colorado as they are packing to evacuate!

Some sad horses being evacuated at the Waldo Canyon fire. At the High Park fire fire fighters found an elk freaking out! They had to blindfold and sedate him and move him out of the fire zone. The sadness they see with many other wildlife is so heartbreaking. They saw bears literally running for their lives!

A view from Palmer Park while hiking. My friend Bridget that I have known since 1969 lives in Colorado Springs. She shot this photo on a hike Spring 2012 This is the Colorado I love to know!

All photos are google images unless otherwise stated!