UPDATED THURSDAY, JUNE 28-FORT COLLINS, Colo.–Firefighters struggled on Wednesday to beat back the fiercely aggressive Waldo Canyon wildfire raging at the edge of Colorado Springs that has forced at least 35,000 people from their homes and burned onto the edges of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The fire began in the Pike National Forest.
The fire has been fanned by gusting winds, and has burned an estimated 200-300 homes in the Mountain Shadows and Peregrine subdivisions on the wooded fringes of Colorado’s second-most populous city and prompted more evacuations as flames roared out of control for a fifth day. Active flames were still being seen today about one mile west of the Air Force Academy.
President Barack Obama plans to pay a visit to the area on Friday to view the damage, the White House said.
The blaze flared Tuesday night with sudden ferocity and quickly overran fire containment lines, invading the northwestern corner of the city. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the FBI is now investigating criminal activity in relation to the fire.
The fire, which has scorched more than 15,567 acres in the shadow of famed Pikes Peak. Thunderstorms hampered firefighting efforts by bringing erratic winds, whipping flames from one direction to another.
“I’ve never seen any progression like that,” incident commander Rich Harvey said at a late-afternoon news conference. “The winds keep shifting on us. Again the winds are causing us problems out here.”
The Waldo Canyon wildfire, described as being “of epic proporations,” by Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown, is raging near some of Colorado‘s most popular tourist sites, forcing closures during what is normally the beginning of the peak summer season.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper flew into the city Tuesday night by helicopter to meet with fire commanders and tour the fire zone first-hand. He noted that the blaze was one of at least a dozen burning throughout the state. Four people have died in Colorado wildfires so far this year.
Hickenlooper, when questioned about response to the fire by some angry residents, said that “not even the Army or National Guard could have stopped this fire.”
“This is the worst fire season in the history of Colorado,” he said during an impromptu news conference, adding that from the air he saw many homes destroyed in a glowing landscape that looked “surreal.”
The Air Force Academy issued a statement saying the military was preparing to dispatch up to 25 more helicopters to join the firefighting effort. Authorities earlier said that half of the nation’s fleet of eight Air Force C-130 cargo planes equipped as air tankers were already at work on this fire, dropping flame-retardant chemicals over the blaze.
Federal Type 1 teams are now on all three major fires burning on the Front Range, from Fort Collins, Boulder, to Colorado Springs.
See this story at: http://news.yahoo.com/monster-colorado-wildfire-rages-obama-plans-visit-015308406.html
The other fire that sparked to life this week, the Flagstaff Fire in the foothills of Boulder, continues to burn in very rugged terrain but has only burned about 230 acres and is now about 30% contained. Firefighters and city officials in Boulder are optimistic about this fire, and have lifted the 2,400 pre-evacuation notices for the south part of the city. Evacuations still remain for homes in the Bison Drive and Pine Needle Notch areas.
The entire Front Range area from Fort Collins through Boulder/Denver down to Colorado Springs had been experiencing historic, record heat in the 100s for more than 5 straight days, preceded by record heat in the upper 90s and no measurable rain for a very long period of time. On Wednesday evening, some areas of the High Park burn area experienced much-needed significant rainfall. Unfortunately, it prompted a flash flood warning due to the burn area being unable to absorb the heavy runoffs.
On Thursday, many residents of Rist Canyon and parts of Poudre Canyon will be allowed to go into the burn areas to return to areas they once called home. Because of some rains last evening and less winds, the High Park Fire did not grow for the first time on Wednesday. fire west of Fort Collins, Colorado, has been burning since June 9th, and has destroyed at least 87,284 acres and destroyed 257 homes. That number will probably increase as assessments in burn areas continue. Containment is at 65%.
Another fire, the Last Chance Fire, burned more than 38,000 acres on the Eastern Plains and destroyed at least four homes and damaged eleven others. That fire is about 95% contained.
The Woodland Heights fire in Estes Park, just miles from the High Park Fire near Fort Collins, burned 22 homes and several other structures within city limits over the weekend. Residents were allowed back in that area on Monday. It forced the closure of the Beaver Meadows entrance at Rocky Mountain National Park.
Hot, extremely dry conditions are expected to return, with temperatures nearing 100 degrees on Thursday and into the low 100s on Friday again. Conditions remain very difficult for the almost 3,000 firefighters working all of these fires along the Front Range.
The lightning-ignited High Park wildfire has destroyed more than 257 homes to date, and that number could increase after additional assessments are completed. For now, firefighters are concentrating on fighting the fire and containment. Bulldozers were used to create fire lines in the Glacier View area, and these bulldozer lines were credited with saving hundreds of homes. Assessments of homes and structures destroyed will occur once recovery teams are allowed in burn areas. Some residents of the Glacier View subdivision will also be allowed to return home, however, the 12th filing of Glacier View remains under evacuation.
The High Park Fire is the most destructive fire in Colorado history. The total cost to fight the fire is more than $31.5 million thus far.
One person was confirmed dead, 62-year-old Linda Steadman, of Old Flowers Road.
The Red Cross is operating a shelter for evacuees at the Cache La Poudre Middle School, located at 3515 West County 54G in Laporte. Larimer County opened the High Park Fire Disaster Recovery Center last Friday at Johnson Hall on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins. The center provides a one-stop opportunity for victims of the High Park Fire to receive services and obtain information on county, state, and other services available to them.
Smoke continues to remain a major issue for the entire Front Range area, including Fort Collins, which remains under an air quality warning.
If you would like to help any fire victims, please visit helpcoloradonow.org for a list of organizations to donate to as well as call the Salvation Army at 303-698-0999 to donate as well.
Follow Updates at http://inciweb.org
Original Article as It Appeared in Print – Link: http://www.gcnlive.com/wp/2012/06/11/barb-adams-a-perfect-firestorm/
Share this post...
