Black Forest Fire

    Our poor town suffered another forest fire this past week.  Last summer's Waldo Canyon fire was just devastating.  Many of the affected neighborhoods are just now rebuilding.  That part of town will never be the same.  Everyone was really hoping and praying that we would not go through something like that again.
     Well, on Tuesday afternoon, the news started reporting that there was a fire in Black Forest.  Black Forest is a beautiful part of our town.  It is a really neat neighborhood/area because it is heavily wooded and just gorgeous.  I have always said how much I would love to live out there because it feels like you are in the mountains.  There are lots of huge homes out there too. 
    When they started reporting the fire, flashbacks of last year's devastation came flooding back.  Last year's fire was on the west side of town and we lived on the east side of town, so it was no where near us.  Black Forest is much closer to where we live now.  That was a little scary.  I had faith in the amazing firefighters because they did such an amazing job last year.  However, it is still terrifying to see great big plumes of smoke in the sky.  They had news conferences and the news was very grim at first.  They explained that this fire was burning out of control and it was very difficult to stop it.  It was so incredibly windy this week and it was literally adding fuel to the fire.  They reported on Thursday, that around 400 houses were lost.  My heart immediately just ached for those poor people.  I can't even begin to imagine what the loss of a home would be like.  I know they are just things, but there are also memories so attached to one's home.
      News started getting better as the week progressed.  They were able to contain more and more of the fire.  Sadly, at every news conference they reported the loss of more and more homes.  There were also two people who lost their lives.  What a horrible, horrible tragedy.  I think the only good that comes out of these fires is seeing the tremendous outpouring of support our community provides.  People were jumping at the chance to give any sort of help or aid to those in need.  That is really neat to witness.  There were cars lined up for blocks to donate food for the firefighters and victims.  
   As of today, the fire is 65% contained which is great news.  The fire has burned about 14,198 acres.  483 homes have been lost.  It is the worst wildfire Colorado has ever experienced.  I just continue to pray that we don't have any more wildfires.  I also pray for all those who lost their homes or a loved one. 

Joey works near the area of the wildfire.  This is a picture he took from work when the fire was just beginning. 

The plume of smoke.