Part of Colorado Springs evacuated

[El Supremo]

BLACK FOREST — Portions of Colorado Springs are now under the mandatory evacuation orders for the Black Forest fire.

The city said the boundaries for the new evacuation are: Northern Boundary: North Gate and Old North Gate Road; Southern Boundary: Flying Horse Club Drive (to include homes south of Flying Horse Club Drive on Barossa Valley Road and Veneto Way)/Vine Cliff Heights/Equinox Drive/Serenity Peak Drive; Eastern Boundary: Highway 83; Western Boundary: Voyager Parkway.

This is the second time Thursday that the fire's boundaries were increased.

The fire has now destroyed at least 360 homes and consumed 15,000 acres, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said at a news conference early Thursday. The list of homes that has been evaluated has been posted online and is updated whenever possible.

Its footprint is approaching 70 square miles....

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23451177/black-forest-fire-evacuation-zone-expands-winds-lightning

[Warpy]

1. Here they go again

I wonder if Dobson's bunch think gawd is trying to tell them something.

...nah, he's gotta be telling all those other people something.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I hate to say it but that is the only house...

...

[otohara]

2. Smoke Made It's Way to Denver

last night - what worries me is all that toxic red goo they throw on the flames. There's no way I would rebuild after having that shit dropped on the area. Building mansions in the forest isn't wise anymore.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. That toxic red goo washes away with water

Serious. Got some of it on my camera body and jeep last fire, and the fire coat.

[otohara]

12. So Happy Your Jeep Survived

the fish...not so much. Your lungs probably don't like it much either.

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_20875198/wildfire-red-slurrys-toxic-dark-side

[ellie]

11. Yes, it is smoky here in Denver.

[kentuck]

3. It's a monster,

It has already destroyed more homes than the Waldo Canyon fire last year. And most of these folks have a few acres for their horses and animals so they are not cluttered all together.

We are supposed to get a possible shower tomorrow and maybe a small shower this evening. That would help.

[L0oniX]

4. What happens if a fire sweeps over a fracking site?

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. That is a good question

[1-Old-Man]

14. Not much apparently.

They have been fracking for decades and of course they have been having fires for longer than that. So if there was some special catastrophic event associated with fracking and fires we probably would have heard about it by now.

[L0oniX]

15. So they don't blow up. Thanks ...I am relieved. Here I was thinking that gas can blow up.

[dgibby]

5. I have cousins living near C.S.

They used to live in the Black Forest area, and some of their friends are now homeless. She says it's really awful there, and getting worse by the minute. So sad.

[Earth_First]

9. My cousin works at Fort Carson...

He says the situation is tense.

Best of luck and safety to those in Fort Collins.

[El Supremo]

10. Updates:

2:36 p.m. Traffic nightmare in northern Colorado Springs. If you don't need to be there, leave. Reporters, officials say it's a parking lot through much of the area north of Woodmen Road.

2:30 p.m. Highway 83 is closed at Powers Boulevard. Police say don't use Highway 83, evacuees should head west. New Red Cross shelter is in recreation center at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

2:20 p.m. Firefighters on radio say fire is pushing south.

Mandatory Evacuation for northern Colorado Springs -- Northern Boundary: North Gate and Old North Gate Road - Southern Boundary: Flying Horse Club Drive (to include homes south of Flying Horse Club Drive on Barossa Valley Road and Veneto Way)/Vine Cliff Heights/Equinox Drive/Serenity Peak Drive - Eastern Boundary: Highway 83 - Western Boundary: Voyager Parkway This is the first mandatory evacuation within the city of Colorado Springs. Mandatory evacuation means leave your home now and head to safety.

Traffic is starting to snarl on Interstate 25. Reporter Jesse Paul says backup northbound starts at Woodmen Road.

2:10 p.m. Weather forecast that's driving more evacuations includes the possibility of thunderstorms that could spread flames.

http://gazette.com/mandatory-evacuation-zone-expanded-in-black-forest-fire-north-of-colorado-springs/article/1502250

[madinmaryland]

13. Be safe, El. Are you in the Colorado Springs area?

[El Supremo]

16. No. 50 miles north

But lots of smoke here. I drive through this area every time I go to a Sky Sox baseball game. I used to go there every Saturday to help rebuild this:

[madinmaryland]

17. What the hell is that?

Are you into train restoration?

[El Supremo]

18. I was.

That's the C&TS RR's narrow gauge derrick OP built in 1911. We rebuilt it at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry in the Black Forest.