Taken from Loveland, Colorado which is the town it threatens to encroach on if the winds shift. The initial report was 100 acres and it grew by 150 or so every hour. I've been doing irrigation work outside for two hours and already have a terrible headache. That smoke plume is heading toward Denver with the entire front range of the Rockies obscured.
Edit: super cool. It has again more or less doubled in size over the past few hours and is now at 3575 acres. The smoke plume in this photo is quaint compared to how it now is. A second fire has started just south of it, also close to a town, so the suppression efforts will be split.
>7/30 10 a.m. Update: Multi-mission Aircraft mapped the fire at 1,820 acres. Due to the proximity to critical infrastructure and communities, this fire has been prioritized and has great support from state and local cooperators. A complex incident management team will be arriving tomorrow night. Fire has not crossed Highway 34.
Reading inciweb reports is always so frustrating. Why the fuck are we not using the military to scramble resources to fight fires that threaten critical infrastructure before they have several days to grow?!
i can understand some hesitance to enlist dumbass boots in any task that requires tact and precision
I can accept that. There's still no excuse for not having a ecology defense wing for nature lovers in the military who can be trusted to safely build fire lines, manage controlled burns, etc.
Especially stupid given that there are at least two major airbases within 100mi.