My State Is On Fire

The BBQ Pit
1

I live in Colorado (Golden…a small town/suburb west of Denver). Something like 100 acres are on fire in one area, there’s like 8 different fires and the acreage is growing. I live about 20 miles from the nearest fire: I should be in no danger, whatsoever, but I’m still feeling some of the effects.

The sky is a weird brownish-orangey/grey. The air is filled with soot. And yesterday was far worse.

One of the fire-sites is near Glenwood Springs: one of my earliest dates was near there. I was ooohhh…just past 16 or so, and was still in the phase where driving was fun. There was supposed to be a meteor-shower and my then girlfriend and I drove up there. We had a pair of binoculars (which turned out to be useless) and sat up there and just watched until about 2:00 in the morning.

Now? It’s scorched earth. I know all the arguments about how fire is necessary, how bad land-management policies have made things worse, etc…I don’t care right now.

My throat is raw and my eyes watering from the (relatively minor) smoke, I keep finding ash on my car, and if the wind shifts the wrong way, everything gets hazy.

< sigh >

Every year since I was 16…not quite half my life, my best friend and I sometime in end of June/early July have driven up Trail Ridge Road (the highest paved road in the world) which goes through Rocky Mountain National Park. We’ve stopped at the same mediocre diner in Estes Park (which is right at the entrance of the park: Ed’s Cantina) and had the same mediocre meal: A hot open-faced turkey sammich with gravy. We’d then drive the rest of the way up and just find a quiet spot and hung out, watched the stars, talk…

This year, it’s likely the park’ll be closed due to the extreme fire danger.

I suspect I’m an uncompassionate boor for caring more about little stuff like this than the people who’ve lost their homes and I don’t feel too wonderful about that either.

And looking west, due to all the particulate matter in the air, we have the most astounding sunsets I’ve ever seen. .

Fenris

2

And everything smells like BBQ. Last year when we had a good sized fire, it stunk. Whichever fire I’m smelling actually smells pretty good. If there wasn’t so much of it and if it would stop. As it is, it smells like the world’s biggest neverending bbq.

3

That sucks, Fenris.

I recently saw the damage the Blue Mountains area sustained during the tremendous bush fires that threatened Sydney about a year ago.

The destroyed areas there are already begining to regenerate.

I hope no-one gets hurt. :frowning:

4

I am glad you’re safe.

5

I was out biking around North Table Mountain on Sunday. After I got done, I felt like I had been smoking while I was riding. It was like riding around inside a Weber.

I would be surprised of they closed RMNP because of fire danger, but I guess they might. Roxborough SP is closed, and I don’t think they’re going to open the Pike NF or San Isabel NF again this season at all. As long as they don’t close the Arapaho NF before this weekend; I was planning on climing Mt. Bierstadt on Saturday. :slight_smile:

And it’s only the beginning of June. I don’t think we’re going to be able to stomach late August…

6

<minor nitpick>Um, that’s 100 thousand acres, not 100 acres.</minor nitpick>

Also, they’re expecting this drought to last 3-5 years. I don’t think we can stomach August either, but I’m almost positive we can’t stomach 2005.

7

And all because some selfish stupid jerk couldn’t obey the fire ban.

8

I have friends in Glenwood Springs, and we haven’t been able to reach them for days.

I can only hope that they’re busy torturing the useless fucks who did this…

9

If this had to happen, let it be because a herd of idiots spontaneously combusted.

10

My State –
My State –
My State Is On Fire!
We don’ need no water
Let the muthafucka burn!

I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that all day, and only just now reached the point of diminished capacity that I was actually willing to do it.

11

Welcome to the greenhouse

(you know, the one dubya says not to worry about)

12

Remember this post the next time a hurricane heads your way.

13

I hope there’s no loss of life, and not too much property loss.

You and your state will be in my thoughts. I know the eerie sunsets, and floating ash, and hope it ends soon.

14

Oh good fuck. :rolleyes:

Can one fucking thread NOT be used as an excuse to pound someone’s idiotic political drum?

Especially given the fact that you obviously have no idea what the fuck is going on in this state? (Colorado’s fires have to do with iffy land management, bad firefighting policies (the last 50 years we’ve had a policy of putting out EVERY fire, so we now have 50 years of deadwood and pine needles built up as tinder) and vast over expansion of the population. Plus human stupidity.)

:rolleyes:

15

You live in Golden, Colorado? I think my friend Mike would be glad that all the controlled burns are preventing a possible raging fire that might damage the brewery that makes Coors Extra Gold… but he’s also about the most sympathetic person I know to complete strangers, so I imagine he’d feel bad for your plight, necessary though the fire may be. For most people, it’s hard to sympathize with something far away, so you’re not an “incompassionate boor” for not thinking more of the people in California who die from these fires. You’re just human.

I suppose the price you pay for large forests out west is the possibility of fire from time to time. Here in Missouri we have forests and very high humidity, so thankfully we get the benefits without the drawbacks. I’ll toss back a Coors in dedication to your plight though :wink: Hope it clears up soon.

BTW, I don’t know why happyheathen felt the need to inject a snide political remark into this thread. Some people will find a way to inject a rude quip about “dubya” into a thread about ham sandwiches or a debate about which Taco Bell sauce is the best. I am told they are called “Trolls”.

16

Wow, Fenris, we were writing our posts at the same time. Great minds think alike? :slight_smile: It seems so, at least over here on the Pit. I get ya on GD sometime, we’ll see :wink: Oh, there goes that gratuitous smilie usage again, end transmission!

17

Nah. happyheathen’s definitely not a troll.* No one who knows the lyrics to almost as many bad songs as me (almost!) can be a troll. :wink:

It’s just that there’s currently a habit on the SDMB for people to toss out snide political comments inappropriately (and it’s not just the Lefties who do it, either. It comes from both sides of the aisle.)

My quest is to try to break this habit. <queue song “The Impossible Dream”> This is my quest! To follow that star < /Impossible Dream>

Fenris

*Unless someone has a habit of ongoing bad behavior it’s considered bad form to even mention the “T” word. And even if they do, the Mods would prefer that you still don’t use it. I probabaly shouldn’t have put that link in the other thread, for what it’s worth.

18

I am so sorry that your childhood memories are in the line of fire.

be safe.

19

Thanks wring!

20

you realize that I’m carefully ignoring how (damned) young you are, don’t you? :slight_smile: