27 replies to this topic

[Jo]

All smoke. No rain in sight here in Estes.

[hahn23]

Jeannette, on 07 September 2010 - 06:28 PM, said:

I was just looking at the Estes Park webcams, and they all look very grey. Is that the smoke or rainy weather? The EstesParkWeather.net says its dry right now.

Smoke from Boulder... in spades. Clouds forming on the other side of the continental divide. Tonight's forecast is for downslope winds, which helps EP. Tomorrow calls for variable winds with dry T-storms and lightning. Not good news. The FourMile Canyon fire is 0% contained, so it's a wildfire threat. It's only 20 miles away, which is about 15 "air" miles. That's too close. We are thinking through our evacuation plan. Not trying to be funny. It's serious business.

Edited by hahn23, 07 September 2010 - 06:41 PM.

[Gojhawks]

hahn23, on 07 September 2010 - 06:40 PM, said:

Smoke from Boulder... in spades. Clouds forming on the other side of the continental divide. Tonight's forecast is for downslope winds, which helps EP. Tomorrow calls for variable winds with dry T-storms and lightning. Not good news. The FourMile Canyon fire is 0% contained, so it's a wildfire threat. It's only 20 miles away, which is about 15 "air" miles. That's too close. We are thinking through our evacuation plan. Not trying to be funny. It's serious business.

Good luck to hahn23 and all our Estes Park friends. The location of the Fourmile Canyon fire certainly got my attention. I just read that at least 9 of the firefighters have lost their homes, but refused to pull off the line. Bless them and everyone involved.

Please keep us informed of the latest as you can.

[Allie]

Adding my best wishes for all who live in and around Estes Park. This fire is huge, and I feel so bad for all who have lost their homes. Very sad.

[SandyP]

Sigh. . . we just saw an interview on the weather channel of a guy who said he only had about 10 minutes to evacuate his home on the mountain where the Fourmile fire is. He said his home is completely gone :( It's hard to get my mind around how horrible that would be. Prayers are on my heart for all the people in that area experiencing such loss.

I guess all the local RMNP photographers can sleep in for a few days and have a big hearty breakfast in town, huh? I 'magine that haze is making photography pretty pointless. Usually, the haze makes every effort to wait until we get there, but this time, I guess you guys get the full gift of it. :(

[cook]

Jeannette, on 07 September 2010 - 06:28 PM, said:

I was just looking at the Estes Park webcams, and they all look very grey. Is that the smoke or rainy weather? The EstesParkWeather.net says its dry right now.

It is smoke. We are in RMNP this week and tonight the smoke was so bad we couldn't even see the larger mountains from Estes Park. Twin Sisters was barely visible.

Edited by cook, 07 September 2010 - 09:15 PM.

[mistylady]

We headed over to do Mt. Ida yesterday. The smoke in the morning was hanging over Estes. TRR was clear and so was Mt. Ida. But, the way back over TRR around 6:00 p.m. was terribly smoky. Couldn't even see Long's. Smoke was hanging between all the mountains. This morning is looking much better in Estes as of now (8:30ish a.m.)

[Tracy]

Let me add my thoughts and prayers to everyone in EP and the area of the fire!! Do what you need to be prepared and stay safe!!!

My three year old seen the fire on TV and when I told her that it was in Colorado, she got big tears in her eyes and said "Is my Colorado home on fire?" She calls our favorite condo at Riverwood her Colorado home.

Fire is a necessary part of nature but when it has such extreme behavior that is when it is super scary. A friend of mine worked many forest fires when he worked for the Forest Service in Utah and he said that he learned one thing "Never take a fire foregranted because when you think that you have figured out what it is going to do, it will take a run the total opposite way!"

Fingers crossed for some favorable weather to help with containment!!

[Jeannette]

Thanks for all the updates as to how this fire is affecting the Park. I'm sending up a lot of prayers that they can get this one under control, and for the safety of the firefighters and homeowners. We'll be arriving in EP this Monday, so I guess we better keep checking in at the ranger stations each day just to make sure there are no threats before we head out hiking. Is there an online source for information on this fire that we could check daily, other than 9NEWS?

[hahn23]

Jeannette, on 08 September 2010 - 06:51 PM, said:

Thanks for all the updates as to how this fire is affecting the Park. I'm sending up a lot of prayers that they can get this one under control, and for the safety of the firefighters and homeowners. We'll be arriving in EP this Monday, so I guess we better keep checking in at the ranger stations each day just to make sure there are no threats before we head out hiking. Is there an online source for information on this fire that we could check daily, other than 9NEWS?

Just ask us. We're here. I'm close to the situation. Will be happy to post, or respond to PMs.

[Jeannette]

hahn23, on 08 September 2010 - 06:54 PM, said:

Just ask us. We're here. I'm close to the situation. Will be happy to post, or respond to PMs.

Thanks Hahn23, we'll keep our eyes and ears open to any news, but I think I will take you up on the PMing, just to keep completely current on the situation.

[hahn23]

Jeannette, on 08 September 2010 - 07:04 PM, said:

Thanks Hahn23, we'll keep our eyes and ears open to any news, but I think I will take you up on the PMing, just to keep completely current on the situation.

Tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 8) we are having clearing skies after brief, light (insignificant) showers. The wind is still downslope (out of the West), so our air is clear of smoke. Neither of the fires are influencing our air quality tonight. Tomorrow's forecast is for warm, dry, gusty winds out of the SW. This is not a problem for EP, but it will be a problem for the FourMile Canyon fire above Boulder. Friday's weather will be cooler, dry with moderate winds out of the West. Again, good for EP, but only slightly better for the foothills.

The problem is.... the weather forecasters are not always right. Accuracy declines as time goes out. The wind direction, humidity and temps are crucially important... deciding the difference between a catastrophe and a normal wildfire. The winds have been capricious.

Edited by hahn23, 08 September 2010 - 07:10 PM.

[hahn23]

The (Larimer and Boulder Counties 6000' to 9000') forecast for midnight Thursday through Friday 9/10/10 is now very bad for the foothills. Low humidity 10% and winds gusting to 50 MPH out of the West on Friday. Red flag fire warning, which means existing fires will grow and new fires could start.

Edited by hahn23, 09 September 2010 - 04:34 AM.