Scott, I asked the hubby about this and he told me that they aren't on the ground because they want to be but they also have to wait for the tanks for this mission to be delivered. Also, it isn't the pilots call as to when to go up. The order has to come from much higher up. Why they don't have all their equipment in one place is beyond me. I do hope that order comes soon. That fire is crazy.

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

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Originally posted by Catman

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Originally posted by DoubleBogey

It almost looks like it's already covered in ashes, is it? Any new news? Did the wind hold off?

I was reading on MSNBC and they are still calling them all wildfires but on a positive note - the governor was quoted saying that half of the nations fire fighting resources are in CO now. I am so glad that they have rallied to help.

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There are 2 huge military planes (c-130's-MAFFS) thats sole purpose is to put out fires just sitting at Peterson Air Force Base(around 8-10 miles from the fire), waiting for our town to "exhaust all of our resources"! At the same time, they are sending 2 more from Wyoming.This fire is on National Forest property and is in between Fort Carson and the United States Air Force Academy...What are they waiting for? They said that they will "wait" to rally until tomorrow, hopefully no one will die and no houses burn down.WTF?

http://www.krdo.com/news/MAFFS-to-help-fight-Colo-wildfires/-/417220/15223482/-/126f6gpz/-/index.html

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These fire fighting planes are STATIONED here, thank you red tape!

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You are just a stressed champ. You got the important things, right? Your family, pets...your life.

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Originally posted by kyro298

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Originally posted by Catman

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Originally posted by kyro298

It will be another act of God if we have a home tomorrow. I'm sick.

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It's night time now,I don't think it will spread that far.

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It's already over there. I know we will be ok but losing my home hits hard temporarily, especially watching it. My son is crying, my daughter doesn't even know yet...this all happened since she left at 3:30 this afternoon. I'm not taking it like a champ anymore. Believe me.

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This image gets to me. We also shouldnt forget that humans arent the only ones being displaced.

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Originally posted by Omis n Kais g-ma

Scott, I asked the hubby about this and he told me that they aren't on the ground because they want to be but they also have to wait for the tanks for this mission to be delivered. Also, it isn't the pilots call as to when to go up. The order has to come from much higher up. Why they don't have all their equipment in one place is beyond me. I do hope that order comes soon. That fire is crazy.

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

quote:

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Originally posted by DoubleBogey

It almost looks like it's already covered in ashes, is it? Any new news? Did the wind hold off?

I was reading on MSNBC and they are still calling them all wildfires but on a positive note - the governor was quoted saying that half of the nations fire fighting resources are in CO now. I am so glad that they have rallied to help.

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There are 2 huge military planes (c-130's-MAFFS) thats sole purpose is to put out fires just sitting at Peterson Air Force Base(around 8-10 miles from the fire), waiting for our town to "exhaust all of our resources"! At the same time, they are sending 2 more from Wyoming.This fire is on National Forest property and is in between Fort Carson and the United States Air Force Academy...What are they waiting for? They said that they will "wait" to rally until tomorrow, hopefully no one will die and no houses burn down.WTF?

http://www.krdo.com/news/MAFFS-to-help-fight-Colo-wildfires/-/417220/15223482/-/126f6gpz/-/index.html

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These fire fighting planes are STATIONED here, thank you red tape!

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Lisa,I know it's not the pilots call or our even local authority's call, it has to get approval from Congress and that had to wait until we exhausted our local resources(it's a law!?), even though this fire started on Federal property(National Forest). They have the equipment here, this unit is stationed here- http://www.peterson.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123307496 I live just south of Peterson AFB and I watch them practice all the time, it's an awesome site to see these c-130s fly almost sideways right over our house. I personally think they should be more proactive in this area since they are stationed here and all these people(military)live here and are a big part of our community. I'm not putting any blame on the men and woman in our military, they do a great job when they are allowed to.I'm sure you have heard the saying "hurry up and wait",,,, sometime you need to "hurry up and hurry up"!

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Originally posted by Kazko

This image gets to me. We also shouldnt forget that humans arent the only ones being displaced.

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Omg!!! This is.... I just can't even process it! It's worse, at least for me, than what I saw during Katrina and Rita. I just can't wrap my mind around the sheer destruction!

Irene

Oh no! I see the car in the one driveway. I really hope those people evacuated!

Scott, thats the military for you...Hurry up and wait. I know in this case it should be hurry up and hurry but for some reason it isn't. I guess it is going to be an act of Congress literally to get them off the ground. I'm wondering if your local authorities are contacting congress about this? Someone has to advocate here. I'd be driving the mayor nuts until they did something if it affected me. But wait, it does. I have a cousin who is a cop and lives there in Colorado Springs.

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

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Originally posted by Omis n Kais g-ma

Scott, I asked the hubby about this and he told me that they aren't on the ground because they want to be but they also have to wait for the tanks for this mission to be delivered. Also, it isn't the pilots call as to when to go up. The order has to come from much higher up. Why they don't have all their equipment in one place is beyond me. I do hope that order comes soon. That fire is crazy.

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

quote:

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Originally posted by DoubleBogey

It almost looks like it's already covered in ashes, is it? Any new news? Did the wind hold off?

I was reading on MSNBC and they are still calling them all wildfires but on a positive note - the governor was quoted saying that half of the nations fire fighting resources are in CO now. I am so glad that they have rallied to help.

---

There are 2 huge military planes (c-130's-MAFFS) thats sole purpose is to put out fires just sitting at Peterson Air Force Base(around 8-10 miles from the fire), waiting for our town to "exhaust all of our resources"! At the same time, they are sending 2 more from Wyoming.This fire is on National Forest property and is in between Fort Carson and the United States Air Force Academy...What are they waiting for? They said that they will "wait" to rally until tomorrow, hopefully no one will die and no houses burn down.WTF?

http://www.krdo.com/news/MAFFS-to-help-fight-Colo-wildfires/-/417220/15223482/-/126f6gpz/-/index.html

---

These fire fighting planes are STATIONED here, thank you red tape!

---

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Lisa,I know it's not the pilots call or our even local authority's call, it has to get approval from Congress and that had to wait until we exhausted our local resources(it's a law!?), even though this fire started on Federal property(National Forest). They have the equipment here, this unit is stationed here- http://www.peterson.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123307496 I live just south of Peterson AFB and I watch them practice all the time, it's an awesome site to see these c-130s fly almost sideways right over our house. I personally think they should be more proactive in this area since they are stationed here and all these people(military)live here and are a big part of our community. I'm not putting any blame on the men and woman in our military, they do a great job when they are allowed to.I'm sure you have heard the saying "hurry up and wait",,,, sometime you need to "hurry up and hurry up"!

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Kazko - I agree emphatically. I haven't pushed conversation on the wildlife side because it's almost too much and I don't know if there is anyone fighting for them right now (short of fighting the fire in general). I can't even comprehend what they are going through right now. One of the areas that was evacuated yesterday (nearest Kylah) was evacuated so fast with the high winds that I know there were pets, horses, and of course so much for wildlife that couldn't have made it through. It's devastating. Completely devastating. I just hope that as many as possible were able to get out. The little ground animals simply couldn't have outrun those 65mph winds when they were pushing that fire. I just hope they sensed it and got out of dodge the best the could. The word of the day is just TRAGIC.

Has anyone heard how Kylah's neighborhood fared last night? I looked on satellite of her area and it looks like it's still in the blue (evacuated but not on fire) but the fire spread was huge and is right behind all of those neighborhoods. Wind direction is playing into this in a big way. I saw neighborhoods where one or two homes were total losses but the rest of the neighborhood was contained. I am just hoping that if it does reach her neighborhood that maybe somehow their house will be spared. No house being burned is good but apparently having a structure catch fire kind of "collects" the fire and gives them a little time to get in front of it. I don't know if that logic is sound...just something I have heard them talking about on the news.

Here is a link to the "fire" map. She mentioned that Ute Valley was in her backyard or was her backyard so you can see how far that "red" has spread.
http://www3.gazette.com/fire/

I agree with you. I hope they are able to outrun the fire but I'm afraid as soon as they stop to rest, it will be on top of them again. Only God can put this fire out now.

quote:

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Originally posted by DoubleBogey

Kazko - I agree emphatically. I haven't pushed conversation on the wildlife side because it's almost too much and I don't know if there is anyone fighting for them right now (short of fighting the fire in general). I can't even comprehend what they are going through right now. One of the areas that was evacuated yesterday (nearest Kylah) was evacuated so fast with the high winds that I know there were pets, horses, and of course so much for wildlife that couldn't have made it through. It's devastating. Completely devastating. I just hope that as many as possible were able to get out. The little ground animals simply couldn't have outrun those 65mph winds when they were pushing that fire. I just hope they sensed it and got out of dodge the best the could. The word of the day is just TRAGIC.

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This is so terrible. I started to tear up just seeing the pictures. I can't imagine losing my home. ):

Catman, did you take those pics?

We don't know how our home is but I do know that there ARE homes in our neighborhood that were on fire last night. Ute Valley Park is 340 acres. It's not a little playground park by any means. There are herds of Elk on this end of town that I'm staying in, which is not normal. Lots of bear too. I've seen lots of heartwarming wildlife pictures. This city is a mountain/outdoor city. People love the wildlife. There are, no doubt, thousands upon thousands are displaced and or/killed. There's no denying or avoiding that at this point. The animals live in those mountains. They live in Ute Valley Park, Garden of the Gods, Peregrine, Air Force Academy, etc...

My understanding is we may have a close repeat of yesterday, today. It's just too soon for there to even be good news. I can't see my side of town through the smoke. We're hanging on to hope.

It's over 15,000 acres now and after what happened last night, I can't wrap my brain around how they consider it to still be 5% contained. It more than doubled. There were NO structures destroyed besides a 10x10 structure at a camp before last night when they were saying 5% containment then.

I just have no new news. They aren't saying much.

I do know we have friends and my kids have LOTS of friends that did watch their homes burn. My 13 year old son doesn't even cry when he's hurt. He barely cried as a baby. He's not a whiner, never has been. He cried all night. ALL night. After we went to sleep, I could hear my kids crying in the other room. Nothing breaks your heart more. I just want it OK for them more than anything.

I'm praying for the best for you guys.

Last year, when we had the bad ones here in Texas, many people went out and tried to round up the wildlife, as much as they could. They tried to go through and push them out while they were herding the cows, horses, sheep, goats... etc. I feel so sorry for the people of CO. My mother in Law lives in Parker, as well as my Husbands Nana and Pop, and his mentally retarded Aunt. I am trying to keep updated on the course of the fire. Many of my family and friends had to evac last year in that Bastrop and Spicewood fire. That one was a little too close to home. I remember the days of wind, and temps upwards of 115 that lead to the fires. We are hitting 107 and 109 this week, but thank God there are no fires right now.

I hope everyone gets out, and I will pray for all involved.

quote:

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Originally posted by sierranevadaK

This is so terrible. I started to tear up just seeing the pictures. I can't imagine losing my home. ):

Catman, did you take those pics?

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Nope.All the pictures I took are from about 5-10 miles south ,dated and all are from the same spot.


It is raining in that area(part of it anyhow) right now and they are expecting another storm after this one passes.

This picture(not mine) is said to be from the Mt. Shadows area.

Obama is supposed to visit here on Friday..... Why waste our money now?

Best wishes from Aus. The story plus photos/video made it onto our media here which shows how huge this all is.

Fingers crossed that your home stays safe Kylah. Be thankful that you had time to evacuate and that your family (gliders included) are safe and well.

Scott do you guys have fire trained wildlife resuers there? There will need to be a lot of work dedicated to wildlife rescue and euth. after this.

Tons of prayers and good thoughts sent you guys way. Thank heavens your critters and family are safe.

quote:

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Originally posted by Ko

Best wishes from Aus. The story plus photos/video made it onto our media here which shows how huge this all is.

Fingers crossed that your home stays safe Kylah. Be thankful that you had time to evacuate and that your family (gliders included) are safe and well.

Scott do you guys have fire trained wildlife resuers there? There will need to be a lot of work dedicated to wildlife rescue and euth. after this.

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Nope, we sure don't. We barely have wildlife rescue under good conditions and no help from the city,county or state.The motto of our Colorado Division of Wildlife is "if you care, leave it there" , "let nature take its course" and "hug a hunter" .

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Originally posted by Catman

Obama is supposed to visit here on Friday..... Why waste our money now?

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Ha ha ha
You know what my thought was?
Well of course! Where there's disaster, there's Obama!

I just found this piece of ash outside my door, which is about 8 miles east of the fire.

We had ash falling from the sky down in Security.

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Originally posted by Omis n Kais g-ma

Scott, thats the military for you...Hurry up and wait.

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Omis, it's not the military's fault. As a veteran, I can tell you that the military is the "hurry up" part. The wait is Congress' department. If it was up to just the military personnel, they would be right in there, doing whatever was necessary.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound gruff. It's one of those "been there, done that" reactions. After Katrina, military (local reservists) and civilians both were in New Orleans the very next day with boats and buses, trying to help evacuate. But we kept getting told "no" by the bureaucraps. Military had to obey orders; civilians were threatened with fines. *sigh*

Irene

quote:

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Originally posted by Indigo

quote:

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Originally posted by Catman

Obama is supposed to visit here on Friday..... Why waste our money now?

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Ha ha ha
You know what my thought was?
Well of course! Where there's disaster, there's Obama!

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I felt the same way when Bush came to New Orleans after Katrina. I was like "don't come over, SEND HELP!". *sigh*

Is there anywhere we can help? Sending supplies or money or anything?

"A firefighter told Colorado Springs Gazette reporter Ryan Maye Handy today that during a briefing, crews learned that 200 to 300 homes have been lost. He said it was difficult to be accurate about the number, since the devastation is so complete that you can't even make out addresses."

http://kdvr.com/2012/06/26/waldo-canyon-fire-grows-thousands-remain-evacuated/

I bet Red Cross would be more than happy to know people want to help.

On a even more sad note, I was just thinking earlier about the wildlife that does survive the fire probably will parish this Winter from lack of shelter. I hope they catch the idiot that did this. I know it won't fix it. Someone needs to be held accountable.

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Originally posted by xxashleighannxx

Is there anywhere we can help? Sending supplies or money or anything?

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https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=202018096962390235287.0004c32ef50e09e541122&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=38.931105,-104.93248&spn=0.347193,0.617294&z=11&source=embed

Map of the fire...been watching this and it's been creepy to watch the red grow. At one point I refreshed and I swear it had doubled.