Five Years Ago Today
@teamfreak16 (43581)
Denver, Colorado
June 23, 2017 12:10pm CST
Did you notice my picture up there? Five years ago today, I went outside to smoke and was greeted by that sight: the beginnings of the Waldo Canyon Fire.
Here in Manitou, at that point, we were under voluntary evacuation. By 2:30 in the morning, voluntary evacuation had turned into mandatory evacuation. The Red Cross had converted a high school gym in Colorado Springs into a shelter, where we spent the next 18 hours.
The fire was a doozy, the worst in Colorado history (this would last one year. We had an even more destructive one the next summer.) It raged from June 23rd to July 10th, burning 18,247 acres. It destroyed 346 buildings and killed two people.
The investigation has pinpointed the fire's origin, and that it was caused by a human, but nothing further is known.
(Info verified by Wikipedia)
11 people like this
10 responses
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
23 Jun 17
I know its scary to be in the path of a fire, last year was the worst I can recall when this area went over 100 days without rain, fires popped up everywhere.
Glad Y`all made it out and to safety.
4 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
23 Jun 17
@teamfreak16 Yes last year it was bad. this year I cant seen to get the sunshine longer than a few hours and then a down pour!
4 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
23 Jun 17
Yes you have fires near you down there Scott.
They never reach as far as in here, but there were a couple minor bush fires on Green Mountain.
Glad no harm came to you in either one of those huge fires..I remember them.
3 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
23 Jun 17
@teamfreak16 Yes there were two fires last time and a series of suspicious fires there..here is a relevant link..I had pics of one of them from a distance..it really lit up the sky.
Officials say two suspicious wildfires that ignited Monday morning in the Green Mountain area burned more than 7 acres of land.
4 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
23 Jun 17
@TiarasOceanView - Huh. I hadn't heard about this. Hope that they catch the guy.
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
23 Jun 17
Really, on Green Mountain? I've mountain biked on Green Mountain a few times. There are some nice neighborhoods nearby. Glad those fires didn't amount to much.
3 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94909)
• United States
23 Jun 17
You'd think by now they'd know the root cause??? Hopefully no major fires since?
The most scary wild fire for us was when they told us to evacuate.
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
23 Jun 17
We had an even worse one the following summer, but nothing since.
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94909)
• United States
24 Jun 17
@teamfreak16 Eek hopefully no more!
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
23 Jun 17
Other than getting evacuated, it didn't affect us personally, no.
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
23 Jun 17
We had two in two years. That's enough for me.
3 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
23 Jun 17
What is it with people? Either it is deliberate arson or foolish "accident."
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
23 Jun 17
I can't help but think it and the next summer's fire were deliberate.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
24 Jun 17
i don't understand the motive for starting forest fires. it's not something to be proud of.
if the fires burned continuously, do you smell it in the air?
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
24 Jun 17
Oh yes, you can smell it and it sometimes is hard to breath.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
25 Jun 17
@teamfreak16 it must be hard for those with respiratory conditions like asthma
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
25 Jun 17
@hereandthere - My girlfriend has asthma. She wasn't enjoying it, to say the least.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86618)
• United States
24 Jun 17
Okay, that's one good thing about the city: we don't have forest fires. I've been near forest fires (we were in Florida when they had bad fires) and they are scary.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
24 Jun 17
Oh, most of those 346 buildings were homes located in Colorado Springs subdivisions. It was scary.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381942)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Jun 17
@teamfreak16 18 hours - you'd all be getting pretty bored and fed up I guess. And being hot wouldn't help.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
26 Jun 17
@JudyEv - I took quite a few naps. That helped.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43581)
• Denver, Colorado
25 Jun 17
It was quite an experience. People were donating all sorts of stuff. But man, was it hot in that gym.
1 person likes this
