Pages

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

"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!

21 comments:

Chatty Crone said...

I will be praying!!!!!! sandie

Mevely317 said...

Oh, Anne ... I'm so sorry. As we watch the newscasts, it's hard to wrap my mind around the awful enormity.

I've so many fond memories of spending time in Denver ... Colo. Spgs. ... summers in Bailey and Durango. God's country, for sure.

You -- as well as your neighbors and the firefighters -- are in our prayers.

Donnie said...

Such destruction and sadness. The photos are really eye opening because the NC news doesn't show all the locations. My prayers are with you all. Take care.

Michelle aka Naila Moon said...

As I told someone else here I am getting ready to move back to CO.
I lived there 3 years and my hubby is currently there.

This all makes me sad.
Please be safe.

~Naila Moon

http://imaphotographicgenius.blogspot.com/2012/06/falphabe-thursday.html

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

So sad all the acres burned and the homes lost... praying for everyone there.....

Lola said...

Hi again,

Many thanks for stopping by my Alphabe-Thursday post.

Such a sad story - my thoughts are with you all. Such a sad *F* post.

Have a restful weekend.

SarahBeth said...

Oh my. I've watched via the news and feel so sad -- we used to live in Avon and worked in Vail and of course did a lot of traveling throughout Colorado. I remember going to the Garden of the Gods -- so beautiful. I hope you will stay safe!

Marilyn said...

We also had a huge fire out here on the eastern plains on Monday in Washington county. I could see the smoke on my way home from Greeley. The fire was southeast of Fort Morgan and I think I read that it burned the second most acres this summer. It is horrible everywhere. Take care.♥♫

Susan Anderson said...

Such sad losses, and I pray these fires will soon be under control.

"/

Unknown said...

I am sending prayers too.

My name is Riet said...

Oh Ann I haven't heard the latests new
s here and I hope you are doing allright. I will be prying for Colorado and their people.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Anne your post is so heartfelt and sad and scary. I am so far from my children and grandchildren that live in the Denver area, so I have to check the internet all the time, but you are there to see it, and smell the smoke..etc. My kids don't want to scare me so they tell me everything is OK, but I'm so worried for them and all Coloradians. I am praying hard that Colorado gets a good soaking rain very soon and that the fires will all be put out. {{ hugs}}

Denise said...

Beyond heartbreaking, very much in prayer.

VBR said...

all over the news we are seeing these awful scenes and we are praying for the people of colorado and for the brave men and women who are fighting this blaze. you are in our thoughts and prays dear lady.

VBR said...

all over the news we are seeing these awful scenes and we are praying for the people of colorado and for the brave men and women who are fighting this blaze. you are in our thoughts and prays dear lady.

Pondside said...

I am so very sorry to see this and to see the news on TV. I pray that your state will escape any more horror from this fire.

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

So very many fires! Praying for these fires to be contained, the families affected and those that are fighting these fires.

Blessings & Aloha!

Debra said...

Prayers with you all ( actually HAVE been for awhile...another blogger that I know lives in that area as well and asked us on monday to please start praying )

It's unbelievable...the scope and damage and truly...no words :(

Judie said...

Anne, we went through a massive fire here in Tucson when Mt. Lemmon burned. It was soooo frightening! Our thoughts are with you!!

Annesphamily said...

Love all of you and appreciate your kindnesses! A sad day in Denver today. Burying a police officer. She was a 7 year veteran having moved hhere from Detroit, Michigan. Raising a 12 year old daughter alone! Shot in the head at the Jazz Festival last weekend at Denver's City Park. Prayers for her family please and her fellow officers all over.
These fires are such a tragedy. We keep praying. I know many of you have experienced them too. Or flooding, tornadoes all the natural disasters. Thanks for all your lvoe and prayers and wonderful comments here!

Jenny said...

Oh Anne. I didn't realize this was so close to you.

It is horrifying to watch the news each night.

So many people facing death and destruction.

My prayers for this situation continue.

Be safe!

Thank you for sharing this update.

If your post generated even one extra prayer it was well worth it.

Hugs and blessings.

Oh,

And A+, of course.