We were gardening Labor Day morning when we first smelled smoke. The fire started about 4 miles due west of our house. Because of high winds, we were soon engulfed in smoke.
The air took on an orange cast, and we watched ash rain down on our deck.
By late afternoon the smoke cleared a bit. About 3500 acres burned that first day.
Tuesday morning the smoke came back, so thick that it grounded the fleet of slurry bombers and helicopters until noon. 7100 acres and at least 63 buildings had burned.
The area of evacuation spread to a rough quadrangle shape that's about 6 miles north-south and 12 miles east-west. The boundaries are Boulder Canyon to the south, Lefthand Canyon to the north, the foothills to the east, and the Peak to Peak Highway to the west.
Tuesday afternoon a fleet of 9 water tankers was in the air again. Helicopters buzzed our house every 7 minutes, scooping water from our neighborhood lake to carry across the ridge to the fire.
This morning the fire is still 0% contained. It has crept north and east, coming about 2 miles from our house. 92 burned buildings have been counted so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment