About the only thing that has been said officially about the cause is that it wasn't lightning. That leaves much to speculation.

What gets me is that as I drive down the street, I see people regularly use the street as their ashtray. A few years ago, we were driving to the Northwest and had to be detoured around a huge long line of fires in Montana--turned out they were all caused by the same idiot chain smoker, who would toss his cigs out the window whenever he was finished. Pure thoughtlessness.

I wouldn't be surprised if similar thoughtlessness led to this Black Forest fire by C-springs. Of course, there are intentional fires, too, sometimes lit by people with criminal intent, other times purposely lit but with negligent actions, such as burning a slash pile too close to other flammables or in too high a wind.

Colorado has been victimized by all of these on way too many occasions over the years. As dry as it is, we all need to be very, very careful.

Cary

There were several cases in California, where firefighters actually started fires in buildings, homes and forrest land (etc.) for personal gain! Totally bizarre.

mountainmatt wrote:Number of people evacuated: 38,000

I finally made a famous list!

Just found out Kelly Airpark is in the evacuation zone for the Black Forest fire.

It's interesting how selective nature can be.

Last Japanese Tsunami (here) in Hawaii destroyed an entire marina (Keehi Marine Center). Our sailboat which faces much more towards the epicenter and is completely exposed to surf and the open ocean (800 pier *Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor) did not have a scratch! We are "Tahitian Tied" (bow stern) which may have absorbed less energy (better) than massive floating docks which Keehi Marine Center had. I have weathered thru a few tsunamis and typhoons where destruction around me took place and we had no issues. But, complacent I am not... Still watching nature with a respectful eye!

* Same harbor where Giligan and the Minow left for the ill fated "3 hour tour"

We got back to our house last night. Still in a voluntary evac zone, but the fire has moved away. Forecast winds should keep it away. We'll see, still packed and ready to leave again if necessary.

We'll see, still packed and ready to leave again if necessary.

Good luck--hope you don't have to.

Cary

Defensible is mostly illusion. If you A. Live in the woods, B. Have hot WINDY days.... it will burn.
Been up close in the aerial fire fighting business. Some days you get lucky. If the wind blows enough... you don't. Just the facts....

Glad you're able to go back home Tadpole.

BY THE NUMBERS
Number of Acres Burned: 15,702
Number of People Evacuated: 38,000
PERCENT CONTAINED: 30%
Number of Homes Evacuated: 13,000
Number of Acres Evacuated: 94,000 acres
Number of Homes Destroyed: 419
Number of Homes with Partial Damage: 15
Number of Homes That Appear Unaffected: 2,645
Number of Homes Unaffected: 1,205
Number of Homes Not Verified: About 3,000
http://www.fox21news.com/news/story.asp ... bveG_mG3h4

mountainmatt wrote:Glad you're able to go back home Tadpole.

Thanks. Still in a pre-evac zone and all packed up. Today was a good day. Not hacking and blowing soot out of my nose right now. They made good containment progress on my corner of the area, hoping for the best for all.

These fires always hit close to home for us. We have family in the mountains, and my girlfriend grew up in a home that she had to evacuate for a variety of our big fires: High Meadows, Buffalo Creek, Hayman, etc. Her brother still has that childhood home up in the mountains, and was facing evacuation within the last couple of weeks for the smaller Evergreen fire that didn't really do much.

We were hiking around near Kenosha Pass today, and marveled at the number of cigarette butts we saw near the shoulder of the road, in dried grasses. It doesn't take much to get Colorado burning when the weather gets hot, dry, and windy. And, despite the credit/blame that some folks like to throw onto our firefighters, nature still has supreme authority on where these fires go, and when they'll go there. A crowning tree fire in high winds is an unstoppable force of nature... all you can do is get out of the way!

Anyway, for you Colorado Front Range folks, give a shout if you get in a tough spot with an evacuation. I have a big diesel pickup truck, and can help out on any of the days that I'm off from work.