It started last Saturday, June 23rd. Zak was down visiting from Greeley. Hubby was in Cypress for work. Zak and I took the girls to the Renaissance Festival for the day. We got there about 10am and had a great time. Finally about 3pm, the girls were done. We were all dusty and hot and tired. We were making our way to the car when my mom called. Let me just say that the Renaissance Festival is up in a little town called Larkspur, about 1/2 way between us and Denver, out in the forest. So, it's pretty hard to see anything except straight up.
Anyway, back to my mom calling. She asked if we knew what was going on? Uh, nooooo. She explained that there was a fire in Waldo Canyon and that folks from Cascade were starting to be evacuated. Immediately I realized that one of the owner's of the business' houses is in the neighborhood being evacuated. And that owner is with Hubby in Cypress and his wife is here. I had been texting with Hubby and told him to call me immediately. He did, I told him about the fire and where is was located. He told me to call Ed's wife at home, he would find Ed (it was middle of the night in Cypress).
I hung up with him and called Ed's wife, she answered and said that she was heading out the door to her daughter's house right then and there. Her daughter only lives about a mile from us, so that was good! I spoke with Ed a bit later and he was anxiously awaiting his wife's arrival at their daughter's house. She did arrive safely with her 2 dogs and 2 cats as well. Because of where they live, their neighborhood was in direct line of the fire for about the first 5 days. Finally when it did become 5% contained, that 5% is where their house is!
We also had friends that day that had to evacuate from the other side of the mountain (our side, the COS side) up in Mountain Shadows. The fire was on the back of the mountain, but they made their evacuation mandatory.
Sunday and Monday the smoke plumes were very visible. As were spot flames, and aircraft that was fighting the fire. Lots of helicopters and planes. At that time we did not have the C-130's working on the fire. Tuesday they released the C-130's to come work on our fire. Our fire was the #1 fire in the country as far as getting all resources needed. It was so close to the city, they really didn't want it to come down into the city. The weather the first few days was around 100 degrees and just miserably hot. There was not a rain storm to be heard of. The smoke plume would move all over, so depending on where you were and which way the wind was blowing, you may be in a cloud of ash and smoke. I am so thankful we have AC, not just because of the heat, but because of the smoke too!
All this time, the 3 news channels here in town were having 24/7 coverage. There were press briefings at 8am and 4pm everyday. And I am pretty sure that entire city was glued to the TV for these days.
Also during this time, Courtney was supposed to attend VBS. Since our church is so large, they way they handle it is by breaking it up into neighborhoods. So, Courtney was to attend VBS at our friends' house in Rockrimmon. The husband at this house happens to be the chief meteorologist for one of the local news stations and was on the air for many many hours on end for this whole ordeal.
We got news Sunday night that Monday's VBS would be cancelled and that the rest of the week's VBS would be held at the church starting on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning came and went as normal. The normal amount of smoke, nothing too scary. I took Courtney and our neighbor's son to VBS down at the church. Throughout the day I started to feel a bit more anxious about my parents for some reason. I arranged with my parents and Hubby that we would pick up dinner and eat with my parents that night at their house. Courtney had her regular Tuesday appointment at 3pm with her behavioral therapist. As soon as we got in the car I had the news on as it was time for the 4pm press briefing. After the first few minutes of the press briefing nothing too exciting was happening. Suddenly someone stepped up to the mic and announced that all of Mountain Shadows was under a mandatory evacuation effective immediatly.
Of course Courtney and I were in the car and I could see the smoke plumes getting heavier and thicker. We went home, picked up Hubby and Kasey and headed to Rudy's restaurant to pick up dinner. I grabbed our good camera and asked Hubby to drive up Garden of the God's road and take the back way to Rudy's.
We started our drive as normal, but as soon as we got on Woodmen Road off Academy we knew things were not normal. We could see flames from that far away (probably 4 miles-ish). Not only could we see flames, we could see flames dancing, licking the trees. It was incredible. I started taking pictures. We drove down I-25 to Garden of the Gods, Garden of the Gods to 30th street and then down to my folks house. Here is a smattering of pictures I took in just that span of 15-20 minutes. My car thermometer read 101 degrees while all this was going on:
We ate dinner with my folks knowing the fire was racing down the mountain towards the city, but not towards my parents house, nor ours. My neighbor started texting me saying: its raining large pieces of ash, the smoke is so thick you can't breath.
I started getting nervous about the large pieces of ash falling. After the girls ate their Popsicles we got in the car and headed for home. You could see the smoke plume. You could see us driving into it. Suddenly exits on the highway were closed off by police. The news was going crazy with trying to tell people which neighborhoods to get out of and how to get out. The air all around us was orange and Police were wearing masks to help them breath. It was unreal. The smoke and ash was so think they had to close the interstate for a while.
Grant, one of our Air Force Cadets was texting us. The fire was right on path to hit the Air Force Academy. They were worried the fire could shoot up the Front Range if conditions were right, and at that moment in time, they were. Hubby took us home, dropped us off and left to go to try to pick up Grant. They (they being the ones in charge at the Academy) kept saying: we might evacuate, hang on..... Hubby waiting outside the South Gate of the Academy for about an hour and a half. The whole time watching the fire race down the hill towards the city and towards the Mountain Shadows area.
Meanwhile I am at home watching the news which of course is insane. I am on both phones and the computer. People far and near wanting updates, wanting to know how to help. At one point I saw our neighbors' kids and grand-kids pull up. I know they live in the Mountain Shadows subdivision. I went running across the street. Krista and Shaun were in the driveway in tears. I just ran up to Krista and hugged her. She said it was worse than a nightmare, it was the scariest thing she has ever seen. She said "if people don't die trying to get out, it will be a miracle". The fire came so hard and so fast that it was more intense than anyone could ever describe. Their normal 15 minute journey to their parents house took them 2 hours.
We started calling friends who were now in evacuation zones, tying to let them know our house was open. Hubby finally returned home, without Grant. The Academy was insisting the Cadets would be fine, even though half of the base had been evacuated (Pine Valley and Doug Valley for those who know the Academy).
After we got the kids in bed, we were glued to the TV. Houses were starting to burn. More and more neighborhoods were being evacuated. I went up to the top of our neighborhood with one of our neighbors. I had been up there every night since the fire started. From the ridge up top I had seen smoke and some glow previously. Also there was always about 5 people up there with me on previous nights. This night there was anywhere from 20-30 people. And we were watching flames. People with high power binoculars and little telescopes were telling us the flames we were seeing were structures burning. It was unreal.
After returning home, we still just watched TV and stayed by the phone and watched FB. About 10:30pm our friends Glenn and Lex called and said: we are on our way. Their neighborhood was now under mandatory evacuation and they were coming to our house. Hubby and I ran and changed the sheets in the guest bedroom and got out fresh towels. Thankfully their neighborhood was not in direct path of the fire, and we are guessing to be on the safe side they closed their neighborhood.
That night we also got an email that VBS was cancelled for the rest of the week.
Hubby and I finally colapsed into bed about 1am I guess. I have no idea what time our house guests went to bed. They weren't sure they were going to sleep much.
The next morning the press conference was rough. They had no idea how many homes had burned at that point. They had no idea if there were any deaths. They were scared and didn't know how the fire was going to behave that day. Apparently the night before, thunderstorms were trying to build somewhere between here and Denver. When that happened the outflow winds came barreling down the Front Range, suddenly causing 65 mile per hour winds. That is what pushed the fire up and over the mountain and down into the Mountain Shadows subdivision. We did know at that point that the Flying W Ranch burned down to the ground. Which is a tourist attraction that many people who have visited Colorado Springs have been to.
Grant called to let us know that he was being released from the Academy for a few days. His summer program was postponed due to their airport at the Academy being taken over by the helicopters and small aircraft that were dumping water and retardant on the fire. So for those Cadets who didn't have anything to do, they got them off base. This way there was an extra 200 cadets out of the way in case there did need to be an evacuation.
We also had our new appointee flying in that afternoon. This is a guy who is just getting ready to start Basic Training at the Academy, a Doolie. Hubby picked him up at the airport at 2pm and he spent the night with us until Hubby dropped him off at Basic Training the next day.
Meanwhile, our vets' office put out a call for volunteers to walk dogs. They had taken in 20-40 cats and dogs for evacuees. Our vets themselves were evacuees! They had stayed at the clinic that night after they were evacuated, taking in animals as needed. So, I headed over there and walked and loved on about 25 dogs and about 10 cats. I did the same thing on Thursday and Friday.
Here we are on Monday, 9 days after this fire started. So far there is no news as to HOW this fire started, but they do know it was human caused. There had been no lightning, no weather of any kind (except for hot and dry) in the area for days. Weather it was arson or accidental is something yet to be determined. The odd thing is that for several days prior to this fire starting, arsonists had been setting fires all over Teller county. There had been about 20 fires set in a matter of 3-4 days prior. So, everyone (the public) is kind of assuming arson at this point. But it is yet to be proved.
It was approximately 350 homes that were destroyed. 2 people did die. Apparently they wife of the couple who perished was bed ridden and the husband refused to leave her.
Ed and his wife's home was untouched! They were able to return to their home in Cascade this past Sunday. Our evacuees, Glenn and Lex, returned home on Thursday night, no damage to their house. The fire didn't come near their home nor did looters get it! Our vets were also able to return home on Thursday night, again no damage to their house!
Our friends Kate and Seann, who were under some of the first evacuation orders last weekend, we finally able to get back to their home the other day temporarily. They let Mountain Shadow people in for the day during daylight to clean out fridges and get more items if necessary. Then they have to leave again. Kate and Seann were able to see that the fire came within about 50 yards of their house. Homes in their neighborhood did burn, thankfully none on their street. There is no visible damage to their house and the smoke smell isn't too bad in their home which they attribute to the newer double hung vinyl windows they had put in a few years ago. They were finally let back in tonight at 6pm, supposedly to stay! Last we heard they wouldn't have gas to the house for a day or two, so no hot showers...
Krista and Shaun and kids went back Sunday night. Same thing there, no visible damage to their house. They too have to wait a day or two for the gas to be turned on.
There are several other friends that we know that were evacuated. All have returned home, to their own home!
We are so thankful that all of our friends who had to live through such a scary situation had homes to go back to. 350 families do not. The community here has pulled together. People, including us, have been donating food and toys and clothing and anything that is needed.
This was our tragedy. We were the #1 fire in the country for a while. We still see plumes of smoke daily. We still have neighborhoods on alert. We still hope and pray this thing doesn't become a beast. Every time the wind starts to blow, which is just about every afternoon here, people start saying "uh oh, the wind is blowing". We all now know way to much about forest fires. We know that they tend to lie down at night. We know that if the flames are 25 feet + high, you need air support to really fight it. We now know that anything can change on a dime. We still smell smoke several times a day, until the wind shifts, which we all now know happens roughly 9 times a day here. We all still watch the mountain with apprehension.
But the good news tonight? It is now 80% contained!!!
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