Lyndia (meant to address this), so thankful for people like your nephew. SO thankful.

This image is of the only thing left of a home in the High Park Fire on 6/20/12.










Deer jumping through a fence to get to safety from the Waldo Canyon Fire

Heartbreaking:



http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2012/06/27/colorado-wildfires-waldo-canyon-fire-colorado-springs/5732/



Heartwarming:

Alright last post so I don't drive you guys nuts...




In this Sunday, June 17, 2012, photo, Fort Collins police officers, Department of Wildlife managers and Colorado Parks and Wildlife veterinarians work together to lift a tranquilized moose onto a stretcher in a neighborhood in west Fort Collins, Colo. The moose, fleeing a wildfire, swam across Horsetooth Reservoir, wildlife officials said.





Last Chance Fire aftermath:




Logan Ackerman, 7, holds a sign along with Marek Krajewski, 3, and Adeline Forster, 2, while supporting fire crews as they return from the High Park Fire to the Incident Command Post at the National Guard Armory in Fort Collins, Colo. on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.

First death from the fire just reported. :( I pray there are no more.

Oh no...I just read about that. Says that she was dead inside a burned home. I haven't really thought about if someone just didn't get out in time...or what if they completely panicked and just couldn't leave or somehow didn't know that the impending danger was as urgent as it was. I am sure there were instances like that... It's just so sad. I pray there are no more as well...her poor family....

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/06/28/colorado-springs-police-arrest-looting-suspects-in-evacuated/

First reports (that I have seen) of looting. I am actually SUPER impressed that there have not been reports of this happening more. These two characters were meth heads...so it really doesn't surprise me. I know with other emergencies in other locations...the whole town would have been looted by now. It's horrible to think that people could have been burglarized while trying to save their lives. People that take advantage like that are a BAD folks.

All these pictures...here, news, FB, everywhere just break my heart.

It's so dry almost everywhere...fires are breaking out all over. We've had several here today. A farmer lost his field & outbuildings because his neighbor was burning trash and some embers caught. We are in triple digits with NO rain in a good week and none on radar. We are under a burn ban and can't even light off fireworks on the 4th.... everythings just kindling right now. It's scary.

Hwy. 24 is shut down a few miles up the road cuz of another fire that has burnt over 50 some odd acres then jumped the hwy....we hit 105 today and the firemen are trying to contain this mess.... I feel so bad for them and I really hope Mother Nature dumps some rain across the US very soon before we have more outbreaks like Kylah just had to go through.

i was looking through some pictures and was wondering how does this happen???? there are two houses in the center that are burnt down but there are houses on all sides of it that look nearly perfect even the landscaping is fine.

quote:

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Originally posted by kyro298

Heartwarming:

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Looks exactly like my Zeus! see they AREN'T ferocious dogs!

quote:

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Originally posted by shadow

i was looking through some pictures and was wondering how does this happen???? there are two houses in the center that are burnt down but there are houses on all sides of it that look nearly perfect even the landscaping is fine.

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I would think embers got on them is my guess.

quote:

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Originally posted by dooney

Hhhhooooooo! I am so glad!

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well poo! I meant to say "whoooooo hooooooo"! stupid auto correct!

Alright children...I need a little help wrapping my head around this...

m.npr.org/news/front/155963152?page=2

Quote: Published: June 29, 2012 by The Associated Press

Obama declared a major disaster late Thursday, making federal funding available. [Copyright 2012 The Associated Press]

Help me understand this please. I could have told you it was a MAJOR disaster days ago. The Waldo Canyon fires are NOT the first and the other fires had destruction, casualties, and were awful as well. Some of those pictures I posted were from High Park and Last Chance on 6/13 and 6/20. Why were they not so important? It's been 2 weeks+ for some of those towns.

So, I am not trying to be a Negative Nancy here....but WHAT THE FREAKING HECK took so long to convince President Obama that there was a MAJOR DISASTER in Colorado? He did this LATE last night???? And NOW - federal funding is available? NOW????? How about AVERT DANGER/DAMAGE/RISK. I'm just saying, don't retain resources where lives are at risk. Red tape is the STUPIDEST reason ever for people to die. I don't care who signs what...when...or how. Just get it done. In fact, screw the signing - do your paperwork afterward if there is a risk of life. Good Granny people...I don't CARE about budgets - you think the people that lost their homes care about budgets? I highly doubt it. I just care that the situation is handled. Right?!?!?!?

Mr. President - YOU ARE LATE. I could have told you that well in advance of last night. This really bothers me.

Don't even get me started on the fact that Colorado has one of the best "income per capita's" out there and some of the lowest crime rates...so they are putting MORE taxe dollars into the government than average and costing the government less in federal dollars for reactive criminal activity, etc. I could be crazy but everything that I have learned about CO lately also puts them as a WELL self sustained economy...again - not crutching on the government and putting in more than they take out for sure. SO, if it's about budgets.... WTH???? In my mind, CO had good credit. Grrrrrrrrrrr!

Alright and now that my gripe is over - look at this quote today from NPR - this is great news!

"Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach and other officials smiled many times during a media briefing Thursday morning, and said there was good reason to hope that the Waldo Canyon fire was on its way out the door."

They said that the weather cooperated and they were able to make great progress!

Still have the number as 15% contained. Obama will be here today. No doubt he'll be facing angry people with difficult questions.

I am no Obama fan by a long shot but it's not just something our President can "declare." It's no different than Bush with Katrina.... yes, our Presidents name gets attached to it but it has to go thru a whole stupid process before "he" can make it happen.

It's ridiculous and needs to change.


We are a dry as can be...the earth is a tinder box just waiting for some stupid someone to toss a lit cigarette or light a firework and the news crews interviewed a couple of Mayors for a few towns around me.... even the one where the family lost their dried up crops and outbuildings... he can't even declare a burn ban until the community board (sorry the official name is slipping my mind right now!) votes!!!!

Again, Ridiculous!

I am encouraged by the feisty folks in this thread this morning. Colorado Springs residents are SO tired and it is uplifting to see others screaming out in anger on our behalf. Our adrenalin rush has crashed now that folks such as Kylah are back in their homes, but we have an ongoing need to keep going as we work to comfort our friends and family who need to re-build. We also are continuing to do what we can for displaced residents who are not in their homes because of evacuation orders which are still in place. As you've been able to see first-hand our community recognizes that pets are part of the family: volunteers are caring for pets at rescues and shelters to give their owners peace of mind. I could go on and on for a long time about all the things residents of this community are doing, and please know your support means everything to us! Personally I look like I have aged 7 years in the past 7 days. Much that I need to do today will take me away from the computer; yesterday my work was phone-related, so I was able to stay at a computer and post a lot. Again, I am so glad that everything is okay for Kylah and her family.

Oh yes, very far from over. The areas that are still under mandatory evacuation had talk of having them lifted today but then I keep seeing things about northeastern winds that are coming in causing a little concern. I would love to order a rain dance WITHOUT wind and lightning please!

That picture just does not make sense to me. I'm thinking intentionally set maybe? Heck, it was supposed to burn anyway so why not give it help,huh?

quote:

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Originally posted by shadow

i was looking through some pictures and was wondering how does this happen???? there are two houses in the center that are burnt down but there are houses on all sides of it that look nearly perfect even the landscaping is fine.

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yeah that one house has 2 burnt down houses on both sides of it yet its perfect. maybe there is some damage to the house that we cant see in the picture. but if embers jump that far without touching the other houses then why didnt it jump over to the house between the two houses. and it doesnt seem that it was because they put it out quickly since its burnt all the way to the ground so it was probably burning for awhile. maybe they did something like spray the other house/area with water or something to stop it from spreading.
but then again tornadoes have gone through towns and destroyed one side of the street leaving the other side untouched.

"We have to make sure we have each other's backs."
President Barack Obama
Colorado Springs, CO
06/29/12 1:37 p.m.

Mr. President,
Sentiment received and understood, but we're having a hard time processing this statement due to the red tape we had to get through, sir. Hundreds of our families are without a home and their cherished possessions, a human life has been lost, countless animals displaced and/or lost. I am at a loss. If only the powers that be had been able to have our backs sooner.
Indigo
GliderGossip.com
06/29/12 1:42 p.m.

The lawns don't really look touched either though.

quote:

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Originally posted by shadow

yeah that one house has 2 burnt down houses on both sides of it yet its perfect. maybe there is some damage to the house that we cant see in the picture. but if embers jump that far without touching the other houses then why didnt it jump over to the house between the two houses. and it doesnt seem that it was because they put it out quickly since its burnt all the way to the ground so it was probably burning for awhile. maybe they did something like spray the other house/area with water or something to stop it from spreading.
but then again tornadoes have gone through towns and destroyed one side of the street leaving the other side untouched.

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You may weant to check with Kazko before sending this. It is his forum. And check with all members here. We are 'all' glidergossip and one can't speak for the rest of us. Not that I think there is anything wrong with your letter.

quote:

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Originally posted by Indigo

"We have to make sure we have each other's backs."
President Barack Obama
Colorado Springs, CO
06/29/12 1:37 p.m.

Mr. President,
Sentiment received and understood, but we're having a hard time processing this statement due to the red tape we had to get through, sir. Hundreds of our families are without a home and their cherished possessions, a human life has been lost, countless animals displaced and/or lost. I am at a loss. If only the powers that be had been able to have our backs sooner.
Indigo
GliderGossip.com
06/29/12 1:42 p.m.

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I think that was just a half hearted joke ;)

I can promise you those houses weren't intentionally set. We WATCHED this neighborhood go up in flames with our own eyes from start to finish. This is a good lesson for anyone. When your insurance tells you that you need to create a fire perimeter around your house, this is why. You could hear on the scanner when the firefighters were in this area and they were yelling out addresses that they were going to try to save and the ones that they deemed "unsaveable" due to the amount of debris, brush, dead foliage, etc... around it. Firefighters are smart enough to know what they can and can't save. Lots of the neighboring houses have burn marks. Also remember how nasty our winds were. Some houses had fire literally blow right over them.

Two people now confirmed dead. Both from the same destroyed home.

Jazz - I totally get it. It's the WHOLE STUPID PROCESS that is angering me. Tell me something...truthfully - if there was a wildfire approaching the white house or some other location of interest (that might not even be federally aligned) how fast do you think "Executive" decisions would be made to slash right through that red tape? I am not PERSONALLY angry with Obama but the bottom line is this...There ARE rules...but there is also a Commander in Chief and by golly - he can justify moving some parameters to aid lives in danger. I FIRMLY believe that LIVES come before politics, bureaucracy, and all the administrative bullchit. I just feel like...they doctor up budget paperwork all day for CYA reasons anyway....why stop for something like this?

And I am not just saying that...I have seen it. I worked in several arms of the gov't as a consultant.

That's terrible Indigo! And, I am with you on your thoughts. Totally with you. He is only one man and I get that and I am NOT blaming HIM. I'm just saying the system sucks when you need it sometimes. BUT, with all that said - I can't say enough AWESOME things about all I read about and saw from watching KRDO and KOAA nonstop online about the local resources and government and the states that sent resources in. The picture of the fireman above with water dripping - was from Boise, ID that came in to help.

I commend all of them for the hard work and the exhausting days passed and ahead.

Article naming the "Colorado Springs" fire the "most destructive on record for CO.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/us-usa-wildfires-idINBRE85L1DD20120628