Category: colorado

One of the photos Jack took on Friday of the Beaver Creek Fire: exempli gratia » Home Fires Burning. As you can see, it was a little too close to our house for comfort.

If you look at the photo I posted yesterday on Saturday, we are calling the two burn areas the north burn area (on the right of the photo) and the south burn area.  We think the forested ravine between the two burn areas is Hell Creek, which doesn’t have any water and that the fire started close to the north fork of Beaver Creek.

By the time it got dark yesterday there was only an occasional wisp of smoke from the edges of the burn areas.  The firefighters must have been working very hard.  We could hear chain saws constantly, and occasionally watch the helicopter drop water.  About 8:30, after dark, Jack and I could count a dozen hot spots: the larger ones were on near the south burn area, but a few were near the north burn area, which means closer to us. Jack said that it seemed as though there were a thousands points of light from the hot spots the night before.

About 8:45, the winds picked up, and there was a lot of thunder and lightning.  One of the hot spots to the south flared, but a half an hour later, the rain came.  I think we received close to two inches.  At three am I checked and could only count three.  At five am I could only detect one:  the one that had flared up when the winds came up which is on the furthest edge of the burn from us.

I decided it was safe to bring the horses home this morning, even though official containment is not yet 100%. The horses were as nonchalant about the return trip as they were about the trip to D’s.  The truck, on the other hand, worked much better.

Aside from the checkpoint to our road, the occasional sight of a Forest Service or fire department vehicle, and the slight smell of smoke, everything is back to normal.  Cause of the fire has not been announced.

About 2:20 pm this afternoon I walked upstairs and simultaneously smelled smoke and heard sirens.  I flipped open the curtain and swore.  Above us, on the mountain, there was a fire about half a mile away, with no defensible lines between us and it. At least the wind was blowing from us toward it.

When one lives in the urban wild land interface, one tends to always have a plan about what one will do during a close wild fire.  I already had the truck near the stock trailer, but it took a bit a time to get it hooked up.  The truck is old and cranky, and wasn’t at first very cooperative.  Jack pointed out I’d left the parking brake on, and took over the driving part of hitching up.

I called my friend D and left a message to say I was bringing horses.  Somewhat to my astonishment all three horses loaded without a fuss.  Lily the mare can be obnoxious about loading, and I loaded her last so she wouldn’t be able to kick another horse.  When I asked her to load, it almost seemed like she realized she had to do it to stay with her herd.

Fortunately, the truck smoothed out by the time I got to the “real” roads.  D met me when I pulled in her drive and we took all three horses to the field where Magic and Lily used to live. Rags lived there a short while too when the roof of the old barn blew off the building.

D drove me back home so I could get the Forrester and was appalled when she saw how close the wildfire is to our place.  We had to pass a check point and I showed my driver’s license as the road our house is on is closed. As we drove up the road, we passed other horse trailers, evacuating “just in case.”

I packed clothes, medications, photos, old journals, computer hardware, camera, and dogs into the Forrester. I opened all gates to our property, for easy access.  We are now all tucked in a D’s house.  Jack is staying at home, but can evacuate with five minutes notice in his car.

The fire is named Beaver Creek Fire.

And no, I don’t have photos of the fire.  I’ve been busy.  Jack ought to have some great ones.