The picture to the left is not a stock “forest fire” picture from somewhere, but one that was actually taken this week of a fire up in the hills near here.
We’ve had family and friends call from both coasts and Montana wondering if we are affected by the blaze. We are not – we are safely tucked away in town. We came down here to buy a house, and just did, but that house is down in Morrison, 45 minutes away. But the new house is … in the woods, the urban interface of course. Someday soon we might be running for our lives.
The fire started when a guy in a camper backed into a propane tank. [So goes the rumor.] It spread quickly, and because of shifting winds and other logistics, last night at 10 P.M. it was “zero percent contained.” Last I heard it was 7,0006422 acres and growing, and that 3,500 people had been evacuated. A hundred [167 as of 9/10] structures have burned, 167 as of 9/10 with 80% surveyed and eight people are missing. [All are accounted for.] (People often refuse to evacuate.)
Anyway, the People’s Republic is not directly threatened. [Though we are safe in SW Boulder, other parts of town are indeed threatened.] It is, I am told, the most destructive fire in Boulder Colorado history.
Piece of Mindful 