i want to take a minute to thank all firefighters for their service
for six days now, an army of career and volunteer firefighters have fought around the clock against the beast of a fire burning just east of me in northern colorado. in the first days of the fire they worked 16, 18, 20 hours straight as they waited for reinforcements. crews are still fighting around the clock.
they cards have been stacked against them. hot, dry weather and the gusting, swirling winds we get so often. rugged terrain. huge swaths of beetle killed trees. i can't imagine the desperation they must have felt the first few days when the fire more than quadrupled in size and all they could do was play defense, the tears they fought back when telling us there was no hope of containment at the time. sunday was a day of particular despair as the smoke blanketed town, a blood red sun glowing behind the clouds, the sky a vision of the end of the world.
years ago i worked for the local rag and had the pleasure of getting to know many of the firefighters in town. i geared up with them and went through the burn buildings, i experienced a moment of panic in a stairwell that was nothing but black and smoke. that was taxing enough, both physically and emotionally. the fire was, and still is in some areas, like a snapshot of hell.
these men and women risk their safety and lives to protect us, some for no pay. hundreds of them from across the country have been deployed to help us, people with no ties to the community, people i will never be able to personally thank. my city remains safe because of them.
the fire is up to 50,000 acres with only 10 percent containment, growth has slowed, but one edge is spreading into an area that is 70 percent beetle killed trees. this has the potential to get much, much bigger as it moves west.
this is where my dad used to take me hiking as a kid
and a wider view of the fire
my most heartfelt gratitude to all firefighters, here and across the world 
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