Colorado Springs Wildfire

[LTC Don]

What, no post on this developing disaster?

The USAF Academy is darned near about to go up in flames people! ! !

The Colorado Wing encampment was shut down, and both USAFA residential areas have been evacuated.

Pics of this developing disaster here:

http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2012/06/photos-waldo-canyon-fire-near-garden-of-the-gods/38318/#name%20here

This is a very, very sad situation -       

Somebody, please tell me CAP is assisting with this situation, and provide a running dialogue if there is time.   


Former Colorado Springs Cadet Sqdn cadet Comm Officer/ Cadet XO, 1982-83

[LTC Don]

In the foreground, low, is the USAFA Falcon Stadium.  The Cadet Area would be off to the right, out of frame.  The structures you see back behind the stadium are up on a ridge, the area known as the Community Center.  The USAFA Prep School is also located here at the Community Center area, just east of that campus. This is where the BX/Commissary is, and other support facilities like clothing sales, barbershop, gymnasium, etc.  The resdential areas flank that ridge to the south (Pine), and north (Douglas)




AND - Just posted on the PAO list -

http://www.usafa.af.mil/news/fire.asp

[RogueLeader]

I'm just hoping that they don't close the RSC on Peterson AFB next month.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Having very little experience with wildfires, has a fire ever been this close to the AFA?

[LTC Don]

Having very little experience with wildfires, has a fire ever been this close to the AFA?

Umm, I think not -      

[Struts]

Wonder what will happen to the facilities of the USAFA. At least it is summer and there are no classes going on. But their activities on campus would probably be suspended.
Do they hold Basic Cadet Training on campus or at Jack's valley?

Edit: Just discovered the answer farther into the website. First part is on campus and second part is in Jack's Valley.

The Colorado Wing encampment was shut down, and both USAFA residential areas have been evacuated.

How are they going to continue that?

[LTC Don]

Just posted on the PAO list that the CAP cadets were evacuated to Peterson AFB; although I don't know anything other than that.  The residents were evacuated to Fort Carson.  Not clear on what they've done with the USAFA Cadet Wing.

The incoming USAFA class of some 1,000 is supposed to start in-processing next week.  I hope there is a USAFA to in-process to......... 

[krnlpanick]

I had actually planned on posting to PAO this morning, glad someone put it up there. I have been watching this very closely - there are no CAP missions for this yet, as we are still assisting with the High Park Fire in Ft. Collins but I anticipate there will be a call out for assistance with the Waldo Canyon fire as well. I am monitoring WMIRS every day on these fires.

Edit: Redacted some information.

[krnlpanick]

Correction - was gonna post about the evacuation on here this morning... I'm still having my first cup of coffee...

[LTC Don]

Correction - was gonna post about the evacuation on here this morning... I'm still having my first cup of coffee...

  Very cool that you are in CO-143.  My home unit is NC-143.  LOL


Can you provide any additional details about the other fire missions CAP is flying such as pictures, radio relay, number of sorties etc.....and any ground support as well......


Cheers,

[wuzafuzz]

Rest assured COWG CAP members have donated hundreds, if not over a thousand, hours so far in a variety of supporting roles around the state.  However, we must remember not to bypass the ICS structure, especially the PIO's for CAP or the PIO's for the agencies we support.  Outside agencies may take an extremely dim view of us releasing info on our own.  That's one of the fastest ways to ensure we don't get asked to help in the future.  It really happens: I worked some ARES support for the High Park fire near Fort Collins, where some ARES operators talked out of shop and earned some harsh criticism from several supported agencies. 

Best wishes to everyone affected by the fires! 

[krnlpanick]

143rd Unite!   :clap:

I can share this. Here is a picture I took towards the fire from the highway - there is supposed to be a beautiful mountain range in that sunset, the mountains are almost completely gone.

[Eclipse]

CNN saying they are evacuating some 32,000 people in the path.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/27/us/western-wildfires/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[wuzafuzz]

I thought the High Park fire was scary when it got close to Ft Collins (home).  Even then it took out 257 mountain homes.  The Waldo fire is much scarier since it actually made it into town. 

Here's a link to a morning update from one of the TV stations in the Springs: http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Waldo_Canyon_Press_Conference_62712_160529155.html

The situation sounded dire last night, with firefighters asking for 20-50 strike teams being told there were none available.  Eventually resources started arriving from Pueblo and the Denver metro area.  Resources further north were already committed to other fires.  Here's hoping they can get a handle on it before the high heat and winds expected later today.

[RogueLeader]

From a post on Facebook is that they may have to use I-25 as the fire line. 

[krnlpanick]

Indeed it is a dire time for us Coloradoans to come together and use every available resource to get all of these fires taken care of. The Co Springs fire has the potential to be both deadly and disasterous for the city. The loss of USAFA would be catastrophic on many levels. The proximity to Shadow Mtn and Peterson is frightening. The loss of national Treasures like The Garden of the Gods would be horrible as well. There is a lot to lose from this fire.

[Struts]

Here is a link to a story about it http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/us-usa-wildfires-idINBRE85L1DD20120627

[Cap'n]

The fire is pretty awful. My home will be evacuating if it gets any worse. (We are in Pre-evacuation, and there is a mandatory evacuation just up the street of us.) The COWG Encampment was closed, and we were told we will be receiving Encampment credit, after a talk to the National Commander, which will hopefully pull through. If not, classes were mentioned to make up for coursework that we missed, since we were only there for around 55-60% of Encampment. If you have any questions, ask or PM me. I'm right in the middle of it all, and will try to update here if anything else happens.

[Майор Хаткевич]

The fire is pretty awful. My home will be evacuating if it gets any worse. (We are in Pre-evacuation, and there is a mandatory evacuation just up the street of us.) The COWG Encampment was closed, and we were told we will be receiving Encampment credit, after a talk to the National Commander, which will hopefully pull through. If not, classes were mentioned to make up for coursework that we missed, since we were only there for around 55-60% of Encampment. If you have any questions, ask or PM me. I'm right in the middle of it all, and will try to update here if anything else happens.

Update as you can, but focus on staying safe. Good luck.

[Cap'n]

As of now, the Waldo Canyon fire has burned 15,000 acres, and 5% contained. 32,000 have evacuated, and more to come. The west side of I-25 has Pre-evacuated/evacuated just recently, USAFA has evacuated, and Monument, Black Forest, and Palmer Lake have evacuated. It seems like so far the fire will not be passing over the highway, but the way the fire has spread now, we don't know.

And thank you, we will be.

[JK657]

Any official CAP involvement?

[Smithsonia]

We've all been too busy to talk. Fire Watch Missions have found 3 or 4 fires which are now out and were quashed double quick because of prompt notification. The firewatch areas are just north of the Waldo Canyon Fire. We were on top of the Waldo Canyon fire about 30 minutes after it started. I think we have the first aerial photos but I can't post'em because the AF hasn't given us a release. New relief crews are lining up for more duty.

100 or so CAP volunteers worked in 100 plus heat for 5 days at the Donations Center in Ft Collins site of the High Park Fire.

Smoke is everywhere depending on the day. I live in downtown Denver so I should be fine. I've got a son in Manitou Springs. He's out of his house- in his RV waiting to displace again.

The Air Force won't let the AF Academy burn. We'll know they are serious when the sky turns black with an aluminum overcast of B-52s full of slurry. Mother Blue against mother nature. It will be the mother of all battles. In all seriousness - The Colorado Wing is standing up and plugging in everywhere we are asked. We are standing up multiple fire watch missions. We are providing comm, volunteers, lifting, heaving, toting, and doing what we can where we can. CAP Cadets at the Encampment were evacuated in good order.

I've done 3 days of duty in the last 6. Sardak doesn't seem to have slept at all in a week. All hands on deck. All doing a good job. All the best. This is what we were built to do.

[krnlpanick]

Thanks for the update Ed - I have been up at Foothills Mall 2 of the last 3 days and will be back again on Friday. Additionally, I am watching for any CAP involvement in the Waldo Canyon fire as well and I will be Johnny on the Spot for that one as well.

Big ups to all the COWG CAP Staff that are all over the state right now helping with all of our wildfires. Very big ups to the pilots doing fire watch!  :clap:

[Smithsonia]

Kudos to Mike McDonald, Leonard Ginther - they have been much harried but hard working ICs. At Ft. Collins Foothills Mall Donations Center - Dale and Jen Short, Bruce Hertelendy, Pete Dunn, Chase Peters, Liz Caldwell, Meagan Graham, and Mary Beth King - who is working with only one good foot. If Mary Beth were a Greek God she'd be a Titan. There are a ton of great cadets who will tell their grandchildren about the Summer of 2012. This will be a storied moment in our long and proud history. They were there. They now know. They will never forget.

On Fire Watch - Steve Steinberger, Randy Robida, Jim Jenkins, Rob Yusko, Nate Duehr, Bob Beabout, Robby Robinson, Ben Kreiger and a few more (sorry I am still collecting names)
Bill O'Connor will fly a mission soon, Mikhail Belov is scheduled, Reid Lester is signing up. I haven't talked to the Encampment folks who bussed out of the Air Force Academy - so I can't sing their praises yet.

Group 3 and 2 are on alert and working the fires. The scene is horrific. We are not on the front lines and won't be. We are the next level down. That's our job. We are proud of this
duty. I am proud to know everyone in the Colorado Wing. THIS IS WHY I JOINED. These are the people I want to be with... doing good... always. 

[Eclipse]

I am proud to know everyone in the Colorado Wing. THIS IS WHY I JOINED. These are the people I want to be with... doing good... always.

In the last month we've had two major, multi-day, multi-state missions, at different ends of the country, all well within our proper scope and encompassing hundreds of members and hours, and this is before hurricane season has really even started (and we've already had four storms turning at once!)

This is why a lot of us joined, and why we need to stay proficient, sharp, and prepared!

This is why we have the SARExs even when it seems like there hasn't been much going on lately, this is why we have to have those employer conversations, this is why we NEED MORE PEOPLE.  No one wants to see anyone get hurt or lose their home or business, but we also don't want to
be on the sidelines when the bell rings muttering "If only we were ready..."

OHH RAH and a HALF!  Go get 'em!

[krnlpanick]

 :clap: for both of the above posts.

[Extremepredjudice]

http://redd.it/vo05g http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/vo05g/how_can_the_national_media_not_be_covering_this/c567m3o this might interest you guys...

Edit: WHOOPS, wrong link.

[wuzafuzz]

Good grief.  The news blog linked below suggests 200-300 homes destroyed so far in Colorado Springs.   
http://kdvr.com/2012/06/26/waldo-canyon-fire-grows-thousands-remain-evacuated/

[Eclipse]

http://redd.it/vo05g http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/vo05g/how_can_the_national_media_not_be_covering_this/c567m3o this might interest you guys...

Edit: WHOOPS, wrong link.

The language in the comments violates the TOS here, and the national media is covering it, so I don't see the point.

[Extremepredjudice]

http://redd.it/vo05g http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/vo05g/how_can_the_national_media_not_be_covering_this/c567m3o this might interest you guys...

Edit: WHOOPS, wrong link.

The language in the comments violates the TOS here, and the national media is covering it, so I don't see the point.

The point was protecting your house from the wildfire.

[ßτε]

http://redd.it/vo05g http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/vo05g/how_can_the_national_media_not_be_covering_this/c567m3o this might interest you guys...

Edit: WHOOPS, wrong link.

The language in the comments violates the TOS here, and the national media is covering it, so I don't see the point.

The point was protecting your house from the wildfire.

Huh? How does this post in any way protect anybody's house from the wildfire?

[Extremepredjudice]

If you have time, prep your house. Cover any and all openings, this means windows, doors, vents, eaves, crawl spaces, any hole you can find needs to be covered with plywood or some other dense, semi-flame resistant material. Pull EVERYTHING away from the sides of your house, from wood piles to that lawn mower you keep meaning to fix to that Rhododendron your wife planted to that empty (or God help you, full) tank of propane. Pull flammable stuff away from windows and doors if it's in the house. And when evac time comes, leave a note on your door with contact info, number of people in your household, and your destination.

Thought it would be useful, never mind...

[Майор Хаткевич]

The OP and a few others suggest some strategies. Still, I think the time to make a run to walmart has passed for many people.

[SarDragon]

Having been close to the SoCal fires in 2003 and 2007, I can tell you that most homeowners are not going to have the time or capacity to do most of that stuff in the limited time available after a fire alert. I read the post, and thought the guy was a little over the top. Basically all you have time to do in many cases is grab your stuff and get out of the area.

[Extremepredjudice]

Having been close to the SoCal fires in 2003 and 2007, I can tell you that most homeowners are not going to have the time or capacity to do most of that stuff in the limited time available after a fire alert. I read the post, and thought the guy was a little over the top. Basically all you have time to do in many cases is grab your stuff and get out of the area.

Like he said, if you have time.

[Smithsonia]

There are fire camps right up in the woods just out of reach of the fire. They are in old forest service cabins. There is a smattering of tents and folding chairs too. This is where the strike teams knock off for a few hours. These people know what they are doing and are the best wildland firefighters in the world. They put aluminum foil on the roof of their cabins. They also have garden hoses and sprinklers everywhere. It is jerry rigged. It is goofy looking. BUT, that is what the pros sleep in at night and eat in during the day while they are against the fire line.

[LTC Don]

I think we have the first aerial photos but I can't post'em because the AF hasn't given us a release. New relief crews are lining up for more duty.

Did the AF forward those photos on to the folks that needed them......say, the El Paso County EOC?

Shouldn't those photos have been requested by the customer that really needs them in the first place like the local Emergency Management coordinator or Fire Chief?.  I have some heartburn about some of the Aerial Photog missions we are flying and why.

If the Air Force requested us to fly AP missions over the fire; what in the world are they going to do with the pictures, unless the missions were to keep tabs on the fire's progress in proximity to USAFA.......

I find my self scratching my head sometimes over some of the stuff we are tasked to do.   

[Eclipse]

Saying the AF hasn't released mission product doesn't mean the customer hasn't received them, nor that the customer is the AF.

[LTC Don]

Saying the AF hasn't released mission product doesn't mean the customer hasn't received them, nor that the customer is the AF.

Now that I've had a chance to think on it, I can see the value in this as an AFAM if the photos were used by the C-130 MAFF crews in their flight planning, if they were used in that way.  I saw quite a few pretty good pictures in the Denver Post set of the Hercs doing what they do.

We have wildfires here in NC, but very rarely on the level of what's happening in CO.  It struck me as odd that the El Paso EM or the State EM did not request any photo overflights (perhaps they have, but we don't know yet), but only the AF.  I think CAP has more to offer to state and local goverment in that regard.

Didn't intend to come across sounding like a troll.

[wuzafuzz]

Assumptions can be a dangerous thing.  No heartburn required in this case.

There are other aerial photographers out there as well.  A bunch of aerial images have shown up in the Denver area papers today.  I found a link to slideshows but can't find it again at the moment.

[Smithsonia]

Here's the photo sets running in the newspaper today. These are not CAP product. However, they are very good photos.
http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2012/06/photos-aerial-images-of-the-waldo-canyon-fire-in-colorado-springs/38597/

[sardak]

The customer was not the AF, it was a county Office of Emergency Management. The AF is not the releasing authority since they weren't the customer. The photos were uploaded to WMIRS where they have been seen by the USAF and other agencies.

Mike

[LTC Don]

The customer was not the AF, it was a county Office of Emergency Management. The AF is not the releasing authority since they weren't the customer. The photos were uploaded to WMIRS where they have been seen by the USAF and other agencies.

Mike

This is an area I'm still learning about and am not clear on the process.  How would a county EM manager get into WMIRS to view CAP photos?

[RADIOMAN015]

The customer was not the AF, it was a county Office of Emergency Management. The AF is not the releasing authority since they weren't the customer. The photos were uploaded to WMIRS where they have been seen by the USAF and other agencies.

Mike

This is an area I'm still learning about and am not clear on the process.  How would a county EM manager get into WMIRS to view CAP photos?

They don't the photos are either placed on a CD-ROM (or perhaps a memory stick) or emailed to them, depending upon how quickly they need the photos.

RM

[capmaj]

How is the Academy fairing today? Any further danger to it?

[Smithsonia]

AF Academy is fine but it is touch and go all around.

Keep up to date yourself.
http://www.gazette.com/
http://www.krdo.com/
http://www.denverpost.com/
http://www.9news.com/

[arajca]

News from the Air Force:
Firefighters make progress on Academy blaze

[denverpilot]

Ditto fuzz's comments on going through PIO's and thanks to Smithsonia for being one. The stories will eventually be written...

It has been an honor to serve where needed and to continue to do so if called upon for the people of Colorado.

[krnlpanick]

As of yesterday, the wildfires in Colorado have been declared a presidential major disaster.

http://www.coemergency.com/2012/06/gov-hickenloopers-request-for-federal.html

On a better note, the containment date for the High Park Fire has been moved up to July 1st from July 15th.

http://www.coemergency.com/2012/06/high-park-fire-update-june-28-at-730-pm.html

Also, for those of you following our fires from across the country, the CoEmergency site is the official PIO from the Colorado DEM. This is where I get most of the details about what is going on.

[arajca]

As of yesterday, the wildfires in Colorado have been declared a presidential major disaster.

http://www.coemergency.com/2012/06/gov-hickenloopers-request-for-federal.html

On a better note, the containment date for the High Park Fire has been moved up to July 1st from July 15th.

http://www.coemergency.com/2012/06/high-park-fire-update-june-28-at-730-pm.html

Also, for those of you following our fires from across the country, the CoEmergency site is the official PIO from the Colorado DEM. This is where I get most of the details about what is going on.

The full briefing with information on all the fire is here: State Situational Awareness Report.

[sardak]

Today FEMA issued a Mission Assignment (MA) to the Wing to take geo-tagged aerial photos of damage from the Waldo Canyon Fire, which threatened the Academy, and damage from the High Park Fire in Larimer County. Both fires continue to burn, with High Park 100% contained and Waldo Canyon 70% contained. High Park is the second largest fire in Colorado history in terms of acreage and was the most costly in terms of property damage until surpassed by the Waldo Canyon Fire.

Our fire watch patrol in Douglas County continues, but support to the Donations and Collections Center for the High Park Fire ended last night. We had been helping at the center since June 18 and members volunteered close to 1,800 hours.

Mike

[Майор Хаткевич]

sardak,

Thank you for the updates, and thank you for all the work you folks have done!

[a2capt]

From the local news today:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/columnists/pfingsten/pfingston-an-open-independence-day-letter-to-colorado-s-fire/article_9f2b0c29-fe90-5aca-936c-7e3adac1430b.html

There are striking similarities to the communities here, and there.

[Smithsonia]

The Colorado Wing is now featured in two articles on CAP VolunteerNow, the online news source at CAP National Headquarters. You can see the articles here:

Wildfire forces evacuation, early end for Colo. Wing Encampment article: http://www.capvolunteernow.com/todays-features/?wildfire_forces_evacuation_early_end_for_colo_wing_encampment&show=news&newsID=13685

Colo. Wing fire response role expands to include aerial photography article: http://www.capvolunteernow.com/todays-features/?colo_wing_role_in_fire_response_expands_to_include_aerial_photography&show=news&newsID=13681

You can learn about other national CAP news and events by going to the CAP VolunteerNow home page here: http://www.capvolunteernow.com

Have a safe and happy July 4th holiday!


Regards,

Joseph Nuvolini, Capt, CAP
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
Colorado Wing