East Troublesome Fire in Colorado

[815C]

Wow, the East Troublesome Fire spread from 20,000 acres to over 120,000 acres last night. It was burning 6,000 acres per hour - which is 100 acres per minute!

This monster headed straight for the little mountain town of Grand Lake, CO. Our family has a cabin there that my folks built in 1991.

Looking at the fire maps (and I've looked at a bunch of them), it looks like the fire came within 100 yards of the cabin. Won't know if it is still standing or not for awhile as firefighting efforts are still underway.

This is all very sad.

I listened to the fire fighter's scanner all night. What a great job these heroes are doing. It was surreal listening to them talk of so many places I am intimately familiar with.

[Chipotle]

I hope your cabin survives. I know several people with mountain properties who are in a similar situation.

Colorado is aflame. Several fires have been burning for months, and several new ones have started in the last few days. The Front Range is covered in ash; it's awful. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was snowing today.

We are getting colder, wetter weather this weekend. It can't get here soon enough.

[Mr. Jelly]

Wow! Good luck. A hundred acres a minute seems like spontaneous combustion almost.

[6L6]

Very sorry to hear this. California too is aflame...

[KenL]

I love Grand Lake, have been there often. Problem is that the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park has hundreds of thousands of standing dead lodgepole pines, killed by the beetle. It's a tinderbox that was waiting to explode, and it looks like it has.

Hope your cabin is okay, 815c.

[yairimann]

Hopefully the cabin will be ok. If they have the time it is amazing how well they can protect a building with sprinklers and with a coating that they spray on the building.

[815C]

Looks like our cabin did not burn, but wow it was close...I feel so bad about the people who lost there loved ones, homes and/or businesses, about the wildlife, and the very beautiful landscape that burned.

[unimogbert]

..........

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by 815C

Looks like our cabin did not burn, but wow it was close...I feel so bad about the people who lost there loved ones, homes and/or businesses, about the wildlife, and the very beautiful landscape that burned.

Good news about your cabin and it looks like snow will help get things under control .

[KenL]

Looks like the East Inlet Trail, just west of the town of Grand Lake, burned up.

The trail leads up to Adams Falls, which is quite pretty. Most people do the short hike there, take some photos, and turn around and go back.

But if you continue on past the Falls for a mile or so, you reach a high mountain meadow where the creek slows down and creates a big pond. It's surrounded by mountains, and is one of the prettiest places that I know of in Colorado. My family had been advised that that is where I wanted my ashes dumped when the time comes.

But those mountains were covered with thousands of dead trees, tens of thousands. It's going to look much different now.

[815C]

Originally Posted by KenL

Looks like the East Inlet Trail, just west of the town of Grand Lake, burned up.

The trail leads up to Adams Falls, which is quite pretty. Most people do the short hike there, take some photos, and turn around and go back.

But if you continue on past the Falls for a mile or so, you reach a high mountain meadow where the creek slows down and creates a big pond. It's surrounded by mountains, and is one of the prettiest places that I know of in Colorado. My family had been advised that that is where I wanted my ashes dumped when the time comes.

But those mountains were covered with thousands of dead trees, tens of thousands. It's going to look much different now.

Wow - I know that area SO well. We've hiked it more times that I can recall - and swam in that frigid water in the upper meadow beyond the falls, and have hiked a few times up to the upper falls WAY up the mountain.

When I read you want your ashes dumped there, I felt a connection. My dad passed 4 years ago. Where did we scatter his ashes? In that upper meadow.

I hate to think of that place being burned.

[KenL]

815C, I have that same photo on my previous phone.

Am I right? One of the prettiest places in Colorado? But I might revise my final resting place. They have enough ashes up there, don't need mine.

Last time I was there, maybe 4 years ago, I was shocked at the number of standing dead lodgepoles up there. Hate to say it, but a big fire was probably overdue.

Mother Nature does what she does, and does not care about who might live or die. A harsh reality.

Still, I'm really glad your cabin survived.

[Cypress Knee]

Originally Posted by KenL

...Last time I was there, maybe 4 years ago, I was shocked at the number of standing dead lodgepoles up there. Hate to say it, but a big fire was probably overdue.

Mother Nature does what she does, and does not care about who might live or die. A harsh reality...

The same is true in the Sierras - millions and millions of dead standing pine trees with the dried needles dangling from the branches straddling the mountain ranges just waiting for a spark from any source.

[shawnco999]

Our house was just north of 815C’s cabin, west of Winding River Ranch. Lost it all...

[KenL]

Shawn, that's terrible, so sorry.