spot fires are now showing in the trees on the air force academy property. this is below the perigrine community and may be the result of blowing embers from the main body of the fire. there are people on the ground at the academy who have already put out several smaller fires that have started - this one looks a bit larger in scope from the smoke evident in the kktv live feed.
yesterday,many good comments and links are here...
another side issue: tuesday, the worst day for this fire as it jumped into the mountain shadows community was also the primary day for colorado. because of the fire, the ballot counting process in el paso county was halted due to evacuations - however, the ballot counting was moved under escort and those ballots should be counted and results completed later today.
other good coverage is through krdo news and koaa news live feed
one more note: ANY person in this diary who tries to "politicize" this fire is NOT welcome! this is a place for news, updates, help, support - it is NOT a place for petty and offensive comments about the politics of people whose lives are impacted!
our hearts go out to all who are facing the uncertainties of this disaster - and especially our hearts go out to nurse kelly and all the kossacks (their friends an families) who are in the path of this disaster.
please note that on the facebook pages of these news stations, the charities and ways to assist are listed. also, there are two active attempts at scamming occurring - one from a 505 area code - where people are getting calls demanding they donate money to assist. the public is being warned NOT to contribute to ANY person who calls them directly, instead, contribute directly to those charities who are known.
now, over 300 homes have been burned - and this is far from over.
please send your prayers, healing thoughts, energy, support to those who are fighting this fire and to those who are afflicted by the impact!
stay safe, for those of you who are in harm's way...
12:33 PM PT: UPDATE: there are erroneous reports that homeowners are being allowed back into evacuated areas - this is NOT true - if you are in the affected areas, please do not try to go back into these areas. your safety and the ability of the fire fighters to do their work without worrying about your safety is critical! NOTHING is worth your lives - nothing - absolutely NOTHING!
12:36 PM PT: update two: blogett peak near perigrine has some activity but not anything threatening at this moment. the real concern is the wind - and in the afternoon, that is what will be watched closely. there is also a bit of lightening happening right now - another concern.
the air force academy is making a fire line around the academy at this time. firelines work. it keeps the fuel from travelling on the ground. the reminder is also to everyone in the area not to leave there cars running where dry grass might be caught by a spark - also, for those outside the fire area, a reminder that if you ever pull off the road, your catalytic converter is hot enough to start a fire underneath if there is dry fuel (grass, leaves, etc) where you stop.
1:13 PM PT: update 3: more smoke plumes in monument and palmer area - storm going through right now - but the storm isn't extreme. this is north of air force academy.
so far, nothing crazy being reported... let's hope that holds! send good thoughts for more rain, less lightning! so far, the rain is not over burn area (glen eyrie) but is south of that area. still, any moisture is good moisture for this dry area. the temps are at 73 degrees with 40% humidity which is a relief for the firefighters who were working in triple digit temps.
in monument area, the temps are higher but should drop with this storm and the krdo newscaster said the fires are not "raging" - that is such good news right now! wind speeds are only 20+ mph at the leading edge - that is also good news!
4:33 PM PT: UPDATE IV this is a link to the streets where homes were lost.