Colorado March(!) Wildfires

[Edgnar]

Burning in Keystone, parts of the Denver suburbs and where else?
http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/03...near-keystone/

This summer is gonna be sketchy.

Anyone got pictures?

[CG]

From my driveway in Littleton

[hitek79]

Denver Post says 18000 Buffalo Creek Rd, which is basically 3 sisters, but from where we live, it seems further south from that. Hopefully the winds die down tonight.

I can't remember for sure off hand, but has the Front Range had any snow at all this month?

[The Dude]

no, very dry March for the front range, foothills didn't get much either

[SterlingSpikeDancer]

Denver Post says 18000 Buffalo Creek Rd, which is basically 3 sisters, but from where we live, it seems further south from that. Hopefully the winds die down tonight.

I can't remember for sure off hand, but has the Front Range had any snow at all this month?

Buffalo CREEK Rd isn't Buffalo PARK Rd, FYI. I heard that there are two separate fires down around Buff Creek and Conifer. One in the North Fork Valley (MAJOR bummer) and the other very nearby, next to Reynolds Ranch/ Pleasant Park Rd. It may be only one, but it could be two separate.

Front Range has been BONE dry all month. At least the foothills had some snow on the north facing slopes, but snow on the ground really doesn't keep the fires down. It is precip from the sky that matters. March has seen Front Range fires each of the past 3 years. All after a dry, windy month.

I really hope the one in Summit doesn't get going. Yikes.

[hitek79]

DP just updated, main fire is south of 285 just passed Aspen Park. 3,000 acres and they evaced 900 homes. Looks like it could be a long night. Hope those guys can stay safe.

[GeoMatt]

View from my house earlier this evening. I'm up North Turkey Creek looking back to the south. Fire appears to be movning E-NE based on the scanner feed and evac prep going on. Hopefully the winds die down over night, it was bad up here today - I couldn't stand out in the drive today without being pelted with rocks in the air.

[Edgnar]

Hope they get these things under control. Denver Post article on the North Fork Fire- live blog type thing with pics. Haven't seen any updates on the keystone fire other than a spot fire got up to 5 acres. Temp is down to 36 in Breck right now. Didn't freeze last night, hope it does tonight.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/weather/...100-acres/551/

[P_McPoser]

Lame. Confirmed fatality in north fork fire.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using TGR Forums

[Crass3000]

From my driveway in Littleton

That looks way too close for comfort. Hope you still have a house.

[Boomer28]

Was driving from KC to Denver yesterday and saw the cloud as far out as the border, thought it was a dust storm due to the 40+ MPH winds we drove through till we got closer.

Shit looks bad, saying 15-25 structures destroyed so far, no containment at all. Good news is that the wind appears to have died down from downtown Denver where I'm staying. Hopefully they can get some aircraft in there today.

[flatlander#2]

I live over in Kerr Gulch not even smoke in our little valley. Reviewed with the missus the plan if we have that deal come our way: grab computers, files in garage, kids and dogs. Leave a big note on door to not save house. I do not want to be that house standing on the hill surrounded by burned out trees, forever smelling of smoke.

Was riding Buff Creek this last weekend, coming up Shinglemill in the morning I smelled smoke. Talked about how spooky it is to smell it in that neighborhood. We rode out to Chair Rocks through the 96 burn area, hot dry as hells out there. That whole area has gotten burned up pretty rough the last 15 years. I suppose one of the big fears it being a watershed area burning out and flooding again. Fricken mess.

[ACheateaux]

Came off the Sawmill Gulch fire late last night. As long as the winds stay down, it should be ok. The Lower North Fork fire looks bad.

Let's hope it's a mellow wind day.

[Edgnar]

Came off the Sawmill Gulch fire late last night. As long as the winds stay down, it should be ok. The Lower North Fork fire looks bad.

Let's hope it's a mellow wind day.

Cool photos, thanks for sharing and thanks for battling the fire.

Here's hoping the winds stay down.

[WrongWay]

It has been very dry and windy. Yesterday, the air quality in Denver was definitely affected. After biking home to Southeast Denver from LoDo along Cherry Creek, I thought I was going to cough up a lung. This morning wasn't bad, but I suspect that was due to a change in wind direction. Still, this is nothing like the Hayman fire, that really, really sucked.

[grrrr]

I'd just like to make this clear - the Lower North Fork Fire was a gomer when I took it over.

[montanagirl]

Scary to think that we are just getting started. We have hardly any snow in any of our pastures, spring runoff is starting in rivers and most of the mud is drying up. There are so many places in Grand County that could go up in flames that I'm anxiously doing a daily snow dance. Can't Tahoe & Utah send some moisture our way? I've never been able to say that I've had more days on my mountain bike than boards in a winter until this season.

[SterlingSpikeDancer]

I'd just like to make this clear - the Lower North Fork Fire was a gomer when I took it over.

Thanks for the work, and welcome to the neighborhood. Sheriffs presser said up to 4500 acres, 23 homes gone, 2 fatalities and one missing. Still at Zero containment, hopefully the sunset winds won't fan things too much. They sent out a pre-evac order to another 6500 homes.

[VC]

Remember to thank your congress for all the cuts to federal wildland budgets.

/soapbox

[ACheateaux]

I'd just like to make this clear - the Lower North Fork Fire was a gomer when I took it over.

No body wants anything close to that command. Did I hear right the FS was IC on it until it really blew up, then handed it over?

[MakersTeleMark]

Remember to thank your congress for all the cuts to federal wildland budgets.

/soapbox

I don't think you have calibrated your soapbox lately, bc the majority of the FS budget has been reallocated away from trails and everything else to beetle kill removal and fire suppression.

[VC]

I don't think you have calibrated your soapbox lately, bc the majority of the FS budget has been reallocated away from trails and everything else to beetle kill removal and fire suppression.

I really don't want to start a pissing match over budget issues. Yes suppression takes a huge portion of the Budget, but in reality, an over grown, washed out trail isn't going to make national news, a fire is.

My point is that the Forest Service is an easy target and people forget about it until there's a fire burning at their house. Then they remember for about 5-10 years and then they really don't care anymore.

Its way to early for fires like this to be burning, hope everyone stays safe out there.

[gretch6364]

I hope everyone is safe as well and there are minimal homes lost, but at some point, Colorado is going to have to just burn.

[flatlander#2]

So every fire that has ripped that area has been set off by a person? What the hell Smokey the Bear. Hayman, Buffalo Creek, Hi Meadows, now this one.

[grrrr]

No body wants anything close to that command. Did I hear right the FS was IC on it until it really blew up, then handed it over?

Yeah, we actually went into unified command for a short while right at that point then it was delegated over to myself and the NFFPD chief.