The fire totally blew up about 4:30 this afternoon when the containment line at Queens Canyon didn’t hold.  Suddenly there were 65 miles per hour winds that changed direction coming from the west and the fire came racing down the mountain.  Urgent evacuation orders were issued for more neighborhoods and the residents barely had time to leave.  We were watching a news media conference that included the fire management personnel, mayor, and sheriff and they were taken completely by surprise when this explosion of fire occurred.  I obtained these pictures from www.kktv.com website.  Many homes have burned down and many more are burning at this moment.

The wind from the west immediately pushed the smoke down over the city.  There were massive traffic jams as it was the rush hour and thousands upon thousands of people were leaving the westside of town at the same time in the poor visibility.

The evacuation area covers almost the entire west side of Colorado Springs and we wonder what it will be by morning.  We don’t plan on sleeping tonight so that we can watch the news and leave again if we have to.

It was 101 degrees today and the weather will be just as bad tomorrow although there is a chance of rain.  In fact, a flash flood warning has been issued for the Waldo Canyon area where the fire began and now has no vegetation to retain the moisture.

Fire information officer Greg Heule gave a grim prognosis for Tuesday afternoon firefighting efforts: “The entire perimeter of this fire is a concern.”
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/fire-140851-highway-waldo.html#ixzz1yvhigQ4P
Steve and I just got back from a short picture taking walk near our house in Manitou Springs. There is a lot of helicopter activity on this southern side of the fire again after being pretty quiet yesterday. Some evacuated residents were going to be allowed to go to their houses in Colorado Springs today for 30 minutes but that plan was cancelled an hour later. 
  This was taken from Lincoln Ave (the street above ours) looking towards highway 24 and the Cave of the Winds.

View to the north from one end of our street. These helicopters are dropping water in the area of Cedar Heights which is actually in Colorado Springs but borders Manitou Springs.

All clear from the side of our house with a westerly view towards Pikes Peak.

Devious Steve had us walk straight to an ice cream and candy shop and just happened to have enough money in his pocket for a scoop each of ice cream, my first in 6 months.  I had a coronary calcium scan last week and my results showed zero % calcification in every artery so I can relax a little.

The fire looks dangerously close but the wind is keeping it away. There is also a 4 lane highway between town and the fire; plus the firefighters are working very hard to keep it from crossing over.

Organizers are planning a “Mob Manitou” on Wednesday for people to come here and spend money in the shops and restaurants.

We were allowed to return home last night but to remain on alert that we might have to leave again.  There’s a website that has a lot of information on all the fires in the U.S. called www.inciweb.org. This fire is named the Waldo Canyon Fire.  There is a map that shows the fire has moved north and west away from us but is now threatening the town of Cascade five miles away, where Steve works, and also southern Woodland Park.  Steve is naturally not working at this time as Cascade has been evacuated and the highway is still closed.

It is very smoky and hazy here.  I don’t think many people returned to Manitou Springs last night because normally the hills across from us are lit up with house lights and last night it was pretty dark.

Having lived in Colorado off and on since I was nine, none of our family remembers that Colorado had this magnitude of fires years ago. And we have very rarely seen 100 degree temperatures, let alone in June of all months.

One good thing to come out of this is that Steve is now outside getting rid of all the dead branches that he keeps dumping around the house and I keep nagging him about.  The news reporters were saying how very important it is to keep the area around houses clear.