The Poudre River Canyon has been one of my playgrounds since I came to Colorado. It's a beautiful place, trout-rich, and dotted with little communities all the way up and over Cameron Pass.
On Tuesday, a newcomer to the area decided to burn off some brush around his place. He didn't have a burn permit. Apparently, he didn't stop to think about the fact that we've been in drought for the last seven years, and so from the way things turn out, I intuit that he didn't have a rake, shovel or water close at hand.
At the time of this writing, the Picnic Rock Fire has claimed almost a thousand acres, forced evacuations in some areas, and has other residents poised to go at a moment's notice.
I live miles from there. My house is nestled against the foothills. People familiar with the area can see Horsetooth Rock clearly from my yard. Even with so many miles and the foothills separating me and mine from the fire, the air quality around my house was so poor this morning, that I'm seriously considering sending my daughter to stay with her grandparents for a few days -- at least until the smoke can dissipate somewhat.
With this entry, I thought about railing against the carelessness that has led to such ruin. I thought about ranting to try and drive home a point about drought conditions and fire. But no, I won't.
Instead, I shall try to educate. Taken from the article linked above, here are the county rules for open burning:
Pile debris in open areas away from standing timber and structures.Piles should be no larger than 8 feet wide and 6 feet high.
There must be a minimum of 3 inches of snow cover around piles.
Winds should be less than 10 mph. Check the weather forecast to avoid burning during high winds or extremely dry conditions.
Always have water, a rake and a shovel available.
Attend all fires until completely out. All burning must be extinguished by nightfall.
UPDATE: As of roughly 1500 hours, the blaze has consumed 2,000 acres, and forced the evacuation of a second subdivision. If you're in Colorado, and would like to help out, please contact the Red Cross, or Salvaton Army. (The Salvation Army in particular is accepting eye moisturizer, bottled water, Gatorade and bandannas for the firefighters.)
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the cold front expected this evening. I hope the drop in temperature makes the fire lay down. In the meantime, we're praying that we don't get the expected 35-40 MPH wind gusts preceeding the front. The fire would be really hard to fight if it races into the more inaccessible areas of the canyon.
Gods bless our firefighters, and keep them safe.
posted by Linda on April 1, 2004 04:16 PM