Colorado fires...wow

[llashram]

https://nymag.com/intelligencer

[world wide wally]

1. That footage lends new meaning to "carbon footprint"

So sad.

[Wingus Dingus]

2. What's unnerving about it is that these weren't homes tucked away

in the pines and forest, like the article said. That's what we're used to, the lightning in the mountains or the unattended campfire that starts burning acreage before the winds make it a threat--time to gather your things and evacuate. This was just suburbs and town centers, gone in minutes. The unsettling feeling is that it can happen anywhere, instantly, just need bone-dry grass and a frontal system.

[Nittersing]

4. Yes. This is what has unnerved me as well.

In the Denver metro area, I've always believed that hail was the biggest "natural disaster" I'd ever have to deal with. Never, ever imagined a wild fire raging thru the suburbs.

[Wingus Dingus]

7. Yep. I guess CO Springs dealt with similar populated-area fires with the Waldo Canyon and

Black Forest fires, but those were still more-forested situations, where I feel the risk is already understood (or should be considered) when you purchase a home in that setting. Just a crazy grass fire wiping out whole developed suburbs on the plains is a new one, I think.

[CrispyQ]

5. The fire burned down 1,000 buildings in just a few hours.

I live just down the road from this tragedy. The video footage is stunning. The devastation is heartbreaking.

https://democraticunderground.com/100216201696

[Wingus Dingus]

8. My son lives and works up that way, although he's

staying with us right now over the holidays in southern CO--his area wasn't affected. But we were watching the news with horror.

[CrispyQ]

9. I'm glad he's safe & not affected.

I know some people whose houses are in the fire perimeter, but I haven't heard any status yet.

[Wingus Dingus]

10. Hope they're OK!

[uncle ray]

11. this can't be stressed enough.

my first reality check was in 2018, what was called the "mm 117" fire burned over 40000 acres of prairie land a few miles from me, in a couple of hours. this was not the first or biggest fire in the area, but was open prairie miles from the foothills of the pikes peak area with not much fuel other than grass and some brush. much like the area where most of the subdivisions are built around here, including mine. similar to the Marshall fire, high winds made the fire travel faster than fire trucks could drive to get ahead of it. i realized then if this happened in a developed area, the damage would be uncontrollable, as we have now seen. had the wind feeding the Marshall fire not calmed some with nightfall, there's no telling how many tens of thousands of structures could have been burned in the Denver area.

i've had to start thinking about fire protection similar to those who live in the wooded foothills and mountains.

[Wingus Dingus]

12. Yep, that could have been Fountain or any of the burbs around and east of Powers Blvd

and Peterson/Schriever. It would have been pretty much the same situation, it was just more sparsely-populated and less developed. Edit to add, the wind gusts basically overrode any real firebreak protections too--makes it even more scary.

[dalton99a]

3. Kick

[llashram]

15. amazing and sad stills

I can't help but think of all the families, their children, their pets...

[CrispyQ]

6. Boulder county is notorious for its open space.

Houses on the edge of open space are worth lots more. We finally got snow yesterday, but before that, we haven't had any significant moisture since July. Everything is dry & crisp.

https://democraticunderground.com/100216201696

[hunter]

13. This is an excellent article.

Welcome to the 21st century.

[llashram]

14. ++