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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 11:34 am
There's a thread for California, but this one's in Colorado and it's shaping up to be very bad. The winds are horrific here today and it's spreading like mad. ************ Wildfire Burns Homes, Fire Truck Destroyed Emergency crews have ordered mandatory evacuations in Gold Hill and areas around it to the northwest of Boulder as a wildfire burns in the area. Several homes have burned and a fire truck was destroyed. http://cbs4denver.com/local/wildfire.fourmile.canyon.2.1898706.html
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 11:35 am

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Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 11:38 am
This is horrible, Kar. I hope everyone will be ok.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 11:39 am
There's just so little they can do with the winds whipping around the way they are today. Fire is bad enough, but fire with high winds is absolutely terrifying.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 11:53 am
I hope you aren't near this dangerous area Kar... (worried frown)
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Debra
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 12:00 pm
Winds, winds go away, come back some other day. I too hope everyone stays safe.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 12:10 pm
Mame, Whoami is about 25 miles or so away, and I'm 35. But the fire is so big, I can see and smell the smoke from here.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 12:12 pm
I just checked and my livestock emergency rescue group is not being permitted to go in and rescue animals either. They've completely closed the area off because of the unpredictability of the fire.
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Whoami
Member
08-02-2001
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 12:49 pm
Wow! We've been watching recorded stuff on the DVR all day. I had no idea anything was even going on! I guess I should turn on the news. Where I live, there are too many houses and trees for me to even see the smoke. I can't even see the annual local fireworks display anymore for all the trees. And that's only a couple of miles away. I can barely see something white through the trees, but can't tell if its clouds or smoke. I also can't smell anything. I don't know if that's cause my sniffer isn't very good (I finally figured out several years ago I have a very poor sense of smell). Or if maybe the smells of suburbia cover it up (don't know if that's even possible). Or maybe the smoke just isn't reaching this far in my direction. Maybe the winds are blowing things in your direction Kar. I dunno. You be careful and be safe!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 12:54 pm
EVERYONE in harm's way - stay safe and please keep in touch! Kar, that's so sad about not being able to go and rescue the animals. Hopefully they'll outrun this fires.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 1:28 pm
prayers for safety for all human and animal life there. God bless the fireworkers
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 1:40 pm
There are quite a few people trying to find ways to sneak in to get their animals, but it's really not safe at all. For most of those canyons, there is one road in and out, and that's it. If that road gets blown over with fire, you're trapped. I'm guessing it's just blowing up along the foothills, Who. Since I'm close to the foothills, that may be why i can smell it?
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Whoami
Member
08-02-2001
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 2:26 pm
That could be Kar (about being more along the foothills). I'm assuming what I could see through the trees and mistake as cloud cover is probably smoke. After looking outdoors last time, I did notice my eyes stinging a bit. But that can be attributed to WhosMom's cigarette she was smoking, my lack of sleep, and/or the fans blowing in the house that dry out my eyes. So nothing new there. Watching on the news now. They showed one home that was completely engulfed in flames, nothing left of it but the framework, and that will probably be gone soon too. 
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Whoami
Member
08-02-2001
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 2:57 pm
I have to give this guy doing the press conference some kudos. He's being very patient with these very.....um....please can I say stupid?....ok, I'll say annoying.....reporters. They keep asking the same stupid questions over again. The main one I noticed was about cause of the fire. The spokesperson said they don't know what started it, there would be an investigation later, and right now they are only concerned about getting the fire under control and saving structures. Seems simple enough. But no, the reporters keep asking speculative questions on what may have caused the fire. They did the same thing with a few other questions. WhosMom said the guy was pretty good. That he should have just told them to shut up and listen to what he's telling them. If he tells you they don't have that information at that time, he's not going to suddenly have the information if you rephrase the question and ask it again. 
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Whoami
Member
08-02-2001
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 3:41 pm
Oddly enough, I can see the smoke overhead more clearly now that I let the dog out the back yard. Seeing as my front yard is what points more towards Boulder, that's kinda weird. 
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 4:01 pm
Who, that's because the smoke cloud heads east about 10-15 miles, and then wraps around to the north about another 20 miles! From where I live, I can see blue sky for about 20 miles, then a HUGE smoke plume to the southwest, with a smoke cloud that covers from the horizon to several hundred feet above it going all the way across the horizon. When I look east, I see more smoke along the horizon. Considering I'm at least 25 miles north of the fire, that's a LOT of smoke. They are calling for help from everywhere now. The fire is completely uncontained. When I posted about it earlier, it was about 300 acres. Now they say it is well over 3000 and probably larger. They are saying at least a dozen homes lost, including where my old boss lives on Sugar Loaf Mt.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 4:26 pm
Here is an aerial photo of the smoke cloud

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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 5:52 pm
Scary. Stay safe all you near the fires! I hope all the animals stay safe as well.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 6:15 pm
There are a few animals now at the fairgrounds and local humane society. Sadly, the fire blew up so fast, no one could go back in and get anything. Even the folks that lived there, many of them had to drive thru flames to get out. For a time, firefighters were trapped on SugarLoaf Mt (there's only one road, and the fire blew over it in several spots). They did get them out but at that point they pulled all the firefighters back to a staging area because it was too dangerous. Sounds like the fire was started by a propane truck that crashed.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 7:11 pm
CBS4 in Denver is reporting that four of the firefighters who were working on the fire lost their homes in the blaze, according to Laura McConnell of the fire’s Incident Management Team. After they were notified, they were released from the fire. CBS4 also reports that the fire has burned 3,500 acres and is 0% contained.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, September 06, 2010 - 10:25 pm
I hope other states, including California, are sending in firefighters and equipment. I feel so for those who cannot rescue their animals; that really sucks and also for the firefighters who lost their homes while trying to prevent others from being lost. Our fires here usually come with wind.. big ones create their own wind.. very scary. And the same thing happens here every time.. totally stupid questions and badgering by news types when there are no answers yet and when what really needs to be disseminated is info about school closures, evacuation sites for humans and animals... Hope you stay safe!
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Tuesday, September 07, 2010 - 4:01 am
Whoami and Karuuna, I hope and pray you and all others near this fire stay safe. Prayers for the safety of the fire fighters and rescuers.
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Tuesday, September 07, 2010 - 4:47 am
My thoughts are with you all!!
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, September 07, 2010 - 7:17 am
It sounds like the fire did not grow overnight, which is good news. The slurry bombers are already in the air, and we have hot shot teams on their way in from other states (not sure where). Emergency Mgt is saying "dozens" of structures have burned, but that includes barns and outbuildings, not sure how many homes. About 50 pets are in local shelters, a couple of dozen livestock at the fairgrounds. And sadly, there are reports of a few people missing. No way of knowing if they are holed up somewhere, waiting it out - no phone service.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, September 07, 2010 - 12:16 pm
The fire has now doubled in size - over 7000 acres. Nine firefighters have lost their homes, along with dozens of other homes lost. Planes were grounded all morning because of visibility issues, however, they are now flying and dropping retardant. I'm listening to the police/fire radio station, and I am *shocked* by how many police are being pulled off their jobs by people trying to get access to their homes or the fire area. It's just constant. Driving thru barricades, thru forest, even hiking thru the forests to get around the barricades and *walk* miles up the canyons to get in. In addition, repetitive responses of homeowners refusing to leave areas that are "suggested evacuations" in addition to the all the ones being removed (or trying to get into) the mandatory evac'd areas. The Governor has declared a state of emergency as the fire grows and there are no signs of being able to slow or stop it as the winds are picking up this afternoon.
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