There is a fire in the foothills here in Colorado Springs.It is just a little south west of Kylah and heading northish...Kylah if you need anything call me!!!


Less than an hour later

It's around 100 degrees here right now with no humidity. This could get UGLY!

Natural brush fire or some dumb motorist tossing a cigarette? Hope all are okay. You'll be busy soon.

They don't know yet.Someone has been running around starting fires in Teller County(about 20 miles away), so it is anyone's guess right now.

Kids with nothing better to do probably. We get several a year here. We have burn bans in the summer because of the water droughts

Thanks, Scott! We're under voluntary evacuation right now, but mandatory just 2 miles west. Could see flames in the last hour from our house. We have quite a view of it! We're gathering up all the important stuff just in case we need to get out quickly. I'm fortunate to have 2 brothers and a sister here if we all need somewhere to go. My vet is also taking in pets for people that have been mandatory evacuated. I just wish this wind would die down some. They just said 0% containment and close to 1,000 acres. Such terrible terrain for accessing it to fight it. They are most certainly all but flat out saying this was caused by a person.

Lisa, we have an arsonist on the loose. They've set 20 fires as of yesterday. No confirmation of this being from the same person quite yet. Not a kid, but a psychopath with no regard for people or nature.

OMG Kylah! I am so sorry! Have everything ready (like you are) just in case....better to go and rely on the homeowners than regret it like that lady you told me about. This is just ridiculous that someone is doing this. I wish I could get ahold of him/her. What a JERK!!!!

I really wish I lived closer to you (but not the fire of course) - I would be happy to help you guys. Ughghghgh! Keep us posted somehow if you can. I will send safe vibes your way and say a prayer for everyone in your area and of course your family and pets.

I am so sorry you guys are dealing with this. Glad you have family AND Scott nearby!

That is horrible Kylah. So they are criminally profiling? Do they know anything else like about what age, race, sex? Don't arsonists usually like to watch their own fires burn? I wonder if they are hanging around just watching it all. Maybe they are the person not worried about anything at all. I hope they get caught real soon. Any deaths other than wildlife?

No, this fire is only a little over 6 hours old so no casualties or structures lost at this point from this particular one, thank God. 0% containment still and it's moving incredibly fast. It's potentially threatening 30,000 people. Just saw this fire has #1 federal priority because of the location.

About time it got some federal priority - I know they are working hard on it...but until I see firefighters and resources from a lot of other states...I don't feel like it's enough. This is downright SCARY!

Poor trees and critters. I suspect Scott will be seeing a bunch more animals soon.

OMG!!!! I hope you all are safe! I'll say a prayer.<3 Keep us updated when ever you guys can.<3

~Erica~

2,000 acres with 0% containment. We'll see what the wind produces tonight but we are still not bring evacuated yet. Praying it stays that way but we're ready if need be.

Do they sound an alarm? Or how do you know when it's a full scale evacuation? By TV/Radio? Just wondering how people know about it if they are asleep for example.

Reverse 911 calls

Ahhhh, can you tell I have never been in an evacuation? This whole thing freaks me out!

They have done reverse 911 calls when a dangerous person is on the loose and in your area.It's not cool to get a call at 1 am with a recording telling you to lock your doors and be on the look out.

Man, the one time we had someone loose, we just had a loud alarm go off. I almost left for class and had no idea because we don't have cable and couldn't hear the alarm. Thankfully a friend called me.

Seriously people are setting these on pourpose? Sick, sick, sick! I had a house fire and it was horrible! I hope they find this sob. And now! Our thoughts are with you and your family! If you need ANYTHING, please pm me!

Yep and while this one had all the attention, another "suspicious" one started not all that far away in Cheyenne Canyon. They put that one out very quickly. People are seriously on the lookout and any inkling of anything suspicious, they're on it. The reaction time of these firefighters is beyond amazing.

This one is now 2,500 acres with 0% containment. There is ash falling and for those that have seen photos of our mountain views before, it's like the mountains are no longer there. Everything is thick, black smoke. You can't see a thing. We all smell like a campfire. Tried for over an hour to get a decent shot of the glow coming off the mountain ridge and this was the best I could get. Thanks for all the prayers...they're much needed. They're evacuating more homes just west of us as I type:






Edited to add: WE ARE SAFE AND WILL STAY SAFE. I'm not one to be stupid and stick around when I shouldn't. Promise. My house is just a thing. We have far more important things to take responsibility for!

The pictures that I took are all from the same spot.It was a little strange looking at night with the mountain glowing. This morning it is just smokey.

Fires within 1/4 mile of structures now. Manitou Springs, Chipita Park, Green Mountain Falls...3,000 homes...are the newest evacuations since last night. Highway 24 Westbound just closed. It did turn away from us last night but unfortunately, they expect winds to change around noon, blowing it back towards us again. Hottest day on record set to be today. Huge new plumes across the mountain ridges. I'll get updated photos soon.

It's moving north and south. Pikes Peak is on the left, you can sorta see it.

Here's that same plume from my house. I just took this 20 mins. ago:









This is ANOTHER one that popped up North of that one. Look how close it is to Mountain Shadows (neighborhood to the bottom right). This is new:

Any updates on containment? I hope and pray that all of those firefighters are safe and able to hold up until this is not a risk. I can't imagine how exhausted they all are. Any firefighter in the area is probably on HIGH alert and ready to just "fall out" from exhaustion. This is not fair to them in addition to all those at risk...but here they are on the front line. That fire (smoke, etc) still looks really large to me. And it looks to have held steady on it's grip through the night.

You guys have really taken a beating in CO lately...I just don't understand all of the calamity that has come to the state...I mean, you guys had the tornado/storm stuff, the flooding, the fires, the meteor showers....UGHGHGHH!!! And to fall on such a "peaceful" place compared to others...where this is just not the norm, it's just odd.

Switching gears to send vibes and prayers of STRENGTH, STRATEGY, and RESOURCES to those firefighters. It really looks like they are going to need it. Let's hope the wind stays low too. Geez guys, I am sorry!

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

They have done reverse 911 calls when a dangerous person is on the loose and in your area.It's not cool to get a call at 1 am with a recording telling you to lock your doors and be on the look out.

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Thank you for explaining that! I didn't even think about it since I have personally never gotten one. My sister did once last year when a shooter was near her children's school. It actually came from the school though on a system that shared information about the lock down and where to get updates. It was SCARY - the guy was holding a gun and aiming it from behind a SCHOOL BUS. Jerk.

I can't imagine what it would feel like to have a call at 1 am telling me to lock my doors. That would be the END of the night for me. Once though, when I was 8.5 months pregnant with one of my sons...my husband woke me up in my face whispering that someone was trying to get in the house. He told me to go in the bathroom, lock the door, and to call 911. Those moments in that bathroom were TORTURE - knowing that he was in the house trying to head off the person that was trying to get in. Not knowing who they were or what they had (gun or whatever) and what their agenda was...was HORRIBLE. Fortunately, the guy was shining a flashlight into the windows looking for an entry point and my husband had a flashlight too. So, he followed where the guy was and shined the light right back at him and the guy ran off. I guess it freaked him out to see a face looking back with a flashlight and a baseball bat (the first thing he could grab!) in his hand.

We got lucky there...but what an emotional roller coaster! I am surprised I didn't have the baby during the whole thing! The weeks/months following...not knowing if they were coming back was just AWFUL.

I am glad to know that all of you have a way to "know" what is going on. Does the reverse 911 thing work only on home phones or also on cell phones? So many people only have mobiles now.

You have to register you cell phone with the Sheriff's office to have them call your cell.

0% containment

I'm so glad you and your family are safe, Kylah! I am sending every good luck vibe I have your way. Keep us posted!

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I made the album public and just updated photos.