October Fire In Rocky Mountain National Park

[ness]

Thanks -- that all makes sense.

I can't picture the exact spot, but I know upstream at Forest Cut, it's extremely steep and rocky in the valley, so maybe the loose soil is less (whatever less is).

We were out there in August, and it was heartbreaking to see the amount of dead standing timber. The west side was even worse. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Grand Lake Lodge and it's surroundings.

[Tim Smith]

...went to RMNP today to the area where this fire has been burning. Recent snows knocked the wind out of it's sails, but winds are strong and the rangers said they're expecting the hot spots to flare up again as it warms up later in the week. The Fern Lake trailhead is blocked at the restroom/turn around. I'll post pictures later.

[Tim Smith]

We're holding steady at 1000 acres burned now. The burn area reaches from the right side of the pool in the picture above to the upper side of that valley.

Here's a picture from October 10 during the fire.

http://wildfiretoday.com/2012/10/10/update-on-fern-lake-fire-west-of-estes-park/

Here's the same spot yesterday:

[Tim Smith]

Unbelievably, recent warm weather and lack of snow has allowed this fire to rebound.

We're up to 2 square miles burned now.

They're saying an illegal campfire is the likely cause.

[Tim Smith]

Worse and worse.

On December 1st, heavy winds have pushed the Fern Lake fire over the fire lines.

Moraine View campground has burned. The meadow where the elk harem on the Big Thompson by Bear Lake Road has burned. I assume all the woods down the Big Thompson canyon have burned.

The east entry to the National Park is closed. 500 homes in Estes Park have been evacuated. The 40% containment that had kept the fire in check is gone with 4,000 acres burned so far. We're at 50% of normal snow pack with no snow in sight.

If you've been to Rocky Mountain National Park you'll recognize the site in this link, You've never seen it look like this before.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_22105770/strong-winds-fuel-fern-lake-fire-force-evacuations

[ness]

Man -- that's really something. I can't imagine what those firefighters must be up against. It was already tougher because of the terrain, now with colder weather and those high winds. Tried to get a look at the perimeter yesterday, but the site wasn't responding. I need to look today and see if I can get my head around where it is now.