Colorado

[wsmith]

Hi everyone, we're scared. We can see the flames clearly from our house, only a few miles away with the wind blowing our direction. Homes are definitely lost. I took some pictures a few minutes ago and you can see the shape of houses in the flames. My boyfriend's telephoto is even more clear - you can see the shape of individual windows and frames.
This was Sunday night. Small fire, safely a few ridge lines away:


This is a few minutes ago. That fence in the foreground is the edge of our backyard:


We brought our girls inside when the house got enveloped in smoke earlier. It was dark as night but the sky was red. We put them in the downstairs bathroom to protect their lungs:


They have evacuated everything west of the highway on the north side of town. We live about a mile from the highway to the east. wsmith or coloradogal, would you be willing to take in our girls if we get evacuated? We have a place to stay but friends in apartments (and in-laws) don't like chickens much.

YES let us know

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Yes they had a lot of fun in there, the little stinkers!

Also, the weather service is having some fun with us:



Colorado Springs Vicinity/southern El Paso County/rampart Range Below 7400 Ft
Flood Watch in effect from 5PM MDT WED until 10PM MDT WED



FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH  WEDNESDAY EVENING

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A  
FLOOD WATCH FOR A PORTION OF EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

INCLUDING  THE FOLLOWING AREAS

EL PASO COUNTY AND TELLER COUNTY AND THE  RAMPART RANGE.  
FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING  
RAINFALL CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE  ACROSS THE WALDO BURN SCAR REGION LATE TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND  EVENING.  
POPULATED AREAS WHICH COULD SEE THE MOST SERIOUS FLASH FLOODING  POTENTIAL WOULD BE THE CITIES OF MANITOU SPRINGS AND OLD COLORADO  CITY.  PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON  CURRENT FORECASTS.  YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE  FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE  PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.  

 

[gardendufus]

Sheesh, we could sure use some rain on that **** fire........but the burn will only aggravate the flooding possibilities. Right now, I'll take the rain tho.

ETA: sorry I swore........but it was just a 'DARN' word, not the bad one.........LOL

 

[gardendufus]

Off the current topic, but I've been waiting for permission from Beekissed to copy one of her posts from the old timers thread. I just got it and thought I'd post it here. For those of you who don't visit the old timers thread, I highly recommend it and it is here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...l-up-a-rockin-chair-and-lay-some-wisdom-on-us This thread is not for the easily offended.

This is Beekissed's response to someone's query about their birds panting.




They are fine and your common sense is in perfect order!

Panting is normal when it's hot and you can't sweat(like dogs or chickens), the excess humidity in the body is released in this manner. You'll also see them holding their wings a little distance away from their body...these birds know what to do in the heat. Providing hydration and shade are all that is necessary on our part. I put a fan in my coop once because I was hot

one sizzling summer...not a chicken stayed inside to enjoy it. End of that little experiment.

For all you newbies with the same questions~guess what? Natural stress is a normal occurrence in the natural world, for both man or beast. If you raise a flock in such a way that they never have to encounter any stress due to climate or environment, you will have a flock that cannot withstand any stress.....and stress is inevitable. One cannot control all the environment around their animals unless they put them into a climate controlled bubble.

Chickens, dogs, cats, etc.....they're tougher than we all want to believe. We want to believe they NEED us to care for their every little discomfort when they quite simply do not. They either get tough or they die but babying them around won't serve them~ or you~ in the long run. Unless you really, really want the stress of a flock, dog, cat, pet that simply MUST have constant tweaking and attention and this makes you feel fulfilled as a human being.

If you don't, let nature weed out the crybabies and wimpy-doos and you will be left with animals that are worthy of your time and effort. Strong, productive and with some longevity of life. Just my $.05...inflation, you know.

 

[gardendufus]

They just extended the evacuation area. North of Fillmore, West of I-25. again......OMG

Before this extension, they were estimating 32,000 displaced.

 

[kmatt87]

does anyone know where i can find a map of the active wildfires? I have tons of friends and family calling me because they don't understand the area i live in. I want to post it on FB so they get a better picture of my area compared to all the fires.

 

[mynamesjenelle]

I hate that you (and others) are in the situation where you need to bring the chickens in, but I LOVE that the chickens played with the toilet paper. Such a funny picture in an awful situation. Stay safe and keep everyone informed.

Now that I'm not as panicked I can start seeing the humor in this. That obstinate bird on the sink looked so dang adorable roosting there, that I didn't notice until after that she left a "surprise" in the sink for us!

We just drove up the hill behind the mall to watch from a higher point. It looks better up north now and I could see the fire line getting put out near the air academy. The amount of flashing lights from emergency vehicles is surreal. There are still lots of chunks of flame, probably houses, but not a wall of fire like it was earlier. We did see a flash down south followed by dark smoke - maybe a propane or gas tank?

The most recent map I could find was from last night. Since then it's gone far north to the reservoir and east into town. See it here: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_20928988

If you want to show them all of Colorado fires, I think there's a map on inciweb.org

Where did you see the info of the new evac area? I can't find it anywhere online. Never mind I found it. So sad. It must be worse down south now

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Sorry for the double post, but right after I wrote that I went to look again. I think they might have it! I can barely see any bright spots anymore, and even those are very subdued. The wind is very calm so I'm sure that is helping.

 

[ONSTAD1]

With the recent turn of events, for the worse and our fixation on them I thought it might be good to post some positive thoughts/vibes... a little positive energy.

I'll start...

My kid got a gig mowing 2 of the neighbors lawns today. His first real job at the age of 11. yippie!


next?

something good in your life?


mo

 

[Minchi]

I have a loving husband, spoiled chicks, and no fire in my area. That is all I can offer right now, and this.

http://www.happynews.com/index.aspx