Hey Durango....are you ok as far as the wildfires up there?
Yes, though it's a tough question to answer. There was a mourning process and this sort of false hope that the fire would be put out quickly, but these conditions are unprecedented in SW Colorado and there was no stopping this fire. That said, nobody has been injured and no structures have been lost and without knowing the exact topography and layout of the area that is burning you'll have to just trust me when I say that these firefighters and absolute fkn WIZARDS. The response has been incredible. A very successful firefighting effort. So eventually you surrender to the inevitable and just enjoy the show... Mother Nature is putting on a show, as are the firefighting wizards. (Which, I have to point out, is Socialism in action.)
But we are losing a huge portion of some spectacular, pristine old growth Ponderosa forest. The fire was started by the coal-fired narrow gauge RR and given that there has always been a tug-o-war here between the sort of sedentary people (who ride the train and shop for souvenirs downtown and complain if they can't park ON the main drag or when the city spends money on bike lanes, etc.) and the active people (mountain bikers, hikers, river runners, who want the river trail and bike paths and trails), it sort of feels like the train having burned down the forest and ruined the trails has left us with heavily impacted outdoor recreation and virtually no impact on the shops and hotels downtown. The couch potatoes win. LOL
Anyway, all the evacs have gone smoothly. No injuries, no deaths, no lost homes. I just returned to work from a 2-week staycation so I've gotten a ton done on the CB500, plus a lot of riding both bikes and motos.
