Indian Gulch Fire Update

See this photo and more at the Indian Gulch Fire slideshow from 9news.com

 
This photo is from 9news.com, but it's pretty much exactly what we could see from our house around 6pm last night. When it got dark we could see actual flames, which was unsettling and beautiful at the same time. Before you say "That's crazy and you're a horrible person," let me just say that I'm not the only one: the last two nights there's been bumper to bumper traffic snaking up Lookout Mountain Drive just after dark as hundreds of people wind their way up to a prime overlook of the fire.

Found at the Denver Post

We had high winds yesterday afternoon that blew the fire north and whipped the smoke into a very ugly, stinky brown cloud. We watched the fire continue to move north last night, and then sometime around 3am I woke up to hear rain on our windows. This morning the sky is clear and there was a light dusting of snow on the hills that aren't still smoldering. I thought this meant the fire must be under control, but from what I can find out from various news sources, the fire is still only 15% contained and has now grown to 1200 acres. They are concerned because there are predictions of 75 mph wind gusts for the afternoon again.

While neighborhoods on the west side of the highway have been evacuated, we are safe (don't panic, Mom). However, the fire is inching its way to the starting point of our favorite nearby hike--a favorite because it's in the trees. If it does make it to that trailhead it will mean no more beautiful, cool hike in the trees, but it also will mean that it will finally reach a road, which might  help establish a northern boundary.

So far I haven't heard the helicopter or planes yet today. I'll keep checking news updates (it's the first time I've ever looked at Twitter--the mayor of Golden has been tweeting with regular updates) and will let you know what I find out.

In the meantime, something for those of you who don't have landlines to consider: the neighborhoods around here that have been ordered to evacuate have been notified via a reverse 911 call. Landlines are automatically registered in the database for this kind of call. If you don't have a landline, you can register your cell number or VoIP. It takes a few weeks for your request to be processed, so do it before you know there's a need. If you live in JeffCo, register here. As Joe would say, "Important safety tip, Egon."