Getting smoky...

[alexpgp]

Galina came by to pick me up around noon so I could help out at the store (usual drill: the report and serving customers). I smelled the smoke in the air first, and then saw it as I looked out toward the horizon. It's a haze that hangs out there, a very light blue, making the mountains less distinct.

The local "big" fire is north of a line between us and Durango, at Missionary Ridge. At sunset yesterday, you could see the pall of smoke rising in the west, blocking out the sun.

At the store, it would appear that those two intrepid newshounds, Rumor and Innuendo, are hard at work in Pagosa. The Missionary Ridge fire is advancing in our direction, say some, at 2 miles per hour (at that speed, we have a couple of weeks to prepare, I figure). Another fire is advancing from the southeast, from the direction of Chromo (funny, the wind is blowing from the southwest). A fire has been reported at Chimney Rock, just a few rifle shots away, as the crow flies (no truth to it, say people who've driven by).

One fact: The sheriff has distributed a leaflet warning residents that they may be required to evacuate their homes, describes the signal for doing so (three siren blasts), but says nothing about any imminent threats.

* * *In other news, the front page of the Sun reports that two Pagosa residents fell for a scam based in Nigeria, one to the point of losing money. The goings-on were discovered when a bank clerk was preparing to send off money somewhere on behalf of a second gullible Pagosan. Total haul for the Nigerians: $26,000.

Ye gods.

Cheers...

Comments

[yan.livejournal.com]

Hi Alex: I'm afraid you have no time to answer with your trip so close, but maybe --

Are national forests in Colorado closed because of fires? I cannot find any definite word in Denver Post. I plan to spend some ten days between Boulder and Durango driving and hiking, but maybe we should go to Wyoming instead?

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the status is of the NFs around Denver, although I seem to recall a news report from there that said the forests were closed to all but essential traffic. The status around here is that the forests remain open, but all open fires are prohibited. There is always a possibility that the forests will be closed at any moment, with a minimum of warning. Certainly if Something Bad happens, closure is all but certain.

If you draw a line between Denver and Durango, you end up going through both the Hayman and Missionary Ridge fires :^(.

I'd go to Wyoming, but I'm not at all sure their situation is any better. They, too, are sitting in a high desert, and the entire West is pretty dry this year.

Let me know how your trip turns out.

Cheers...

[yan.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Alex; we'll go anyway. Let's hope Leadville-Salida area will be open for few days; we'll go through Gunnison to Cortez and some yet unknown way back.