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Colorado Forest Fire
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Hollowfox Date: 14 Jun 00 - 05:39 PM Rex & LEJ, my prayers are with you. Now keep the car packed, just in case. Mary |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Hollowfox Date: 14 Jun 00 - 05:55 PM Rex & LEJ, my prayers are with you. Now keep the car packed, just in case. Mary |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Lonesome EJ Date: 14 Jun 00 - 06:36 PM 4:30 PM MST.Scanners. Every other person who walks in the door of my Radioshack store is either looking for a scanner, or wants the latest BLM frequencies. I went too see my friend Don at the Idaho Springs store yesterday afternoon to scrounge another load. People are starved for info: Which way will the fire go next? Has my home been burned? Are the firefighters making any progress? Last night the local news channel carried a report that Conifer was being evacuated, so I drove the three miles to my store to discover every thing peaceful and normal, another false alarm. Disinformation is rampant. If you ever want to know just how much guess-work goes into your 10 o'clock news, try living in a disaster area. A guy came into the store yesterday morning, saying that he had seen the beginning of the fire. He was draining his hot tub at his High Meadow home when he noticed a thin plume of smoke rising in the valley below him. At 9:05 AM he called Elk Creek Fire Dept, who replied that they "were on it." For three hours he watched the fire grow in size, until finally at about 12:15PM he saw trucks arriving at the scene. He is now living at the shelter, not sure whether his house was still standing. A second guy said he had lied to the police roadblock in order to get to his house south of the town of Pine. He said he had driven in along the edge of the blaze, with a wall of flames just 30 feet away, just to rescue his Golden Retriever. I drove to the top of Conifer Mtn, around the corner from Rex, and got a view up the valley toward Bailey. The fire lay like an elongated crescent stretching 3 or 4 miles from near Bailey to Shaffer's Crossing. A spotter plane wheeled high above the smoke, giving instructions to a lead plane who guided the slurry bomber to the flames. I had the image of several mosquitoes attacking an elephant, such is the enormity of the blaze. What courage it takes to fly into that dense plume of smoke. Several waterbucket choppers are now in the area, including a huge one the Canadians have sent. The winds are down, and today would seem to be the pivotal day. Road crews are dropping trees and clearing brush along Highway 285, in order to widen the fire line and keep the High Meadow Fire from crossing the Highway and taking Conifer Mountain. Rex, I'll buy you a beer at the Bucksnort when this is over, as long as you, me, and the Bucksnort are all still standing... |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: SINSULL Date: 14 Jun 00 - 07:16 PM Thanks for the update LEJ. Worried about you and your family all day. Please be careful wandering around out there. Winds shift and somebody always gets caught off guard. SS |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: BlueJay Date: 14 Jun 00 - 08:41 PM LEJ- The fire is approaching Shaffer's Crossing now? I sure hope the Hwy 285 fire- line works. That's a bit too close for comfort. SINSULL brought up the 6/09/00 "Thought for the Day", discussing how suddenly things change. It was just a few days ago that we were talking about playing music. Now it's this. DAMN. Everyone I've talked to in Trinidad knows of your predicament, and their prayers are with you as well. BTW LEJ, I've been wondering: Is WyoWoman safe? I've seen no mention of her, so I'm assuming she must live a good deal further from the fire. Thanks for the update. Our hearts and spirits are with you. BlueJay |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Dave Swan Date: 14 Jun 00 - 08:55 PM Best wishes to everyone who's waiting this thing out. I know some of the folks who've gone to CO to fight that fire, and you couldn't ask for a better crew. Be safe, Dave |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: katlaughing Date: 14 Jun 00 - 09:30 PM WyoWoman is not in that area, at least she wasn't last email I got from her...she's going further south to settle. El Swanno...good to know your mates are there to help. Damn, LeeJ, Rex et al...keep your cars packed and your houses hosed down...still keeping you close in our hearts and thoughts luvyakat |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Sorcha Date: 14 Jun 00 - 09:35 PM Have sent at least 6 fighters from this county, don't know about trucks, etc. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Little Neophyte Date: 14 Jun 00 - 09:56 PM LEJ & Rex, I am not sure if a candle is the most appropriate thing for me to light, but I will say some prayers for you guys. My thoughts are with you. Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Willie-O Date: 14 Jun 00 - 11:30 PM Keep talkin to us fellas! Leej owns a Radio Shack? Geez the guy's not only talented, he's got gadgets galore! Was "Blaze" a movie about forest fire fighting? I haven't seen it, but "Always" is a pretty decent flick for the aerial scenes. And Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter have good chemistry. Possibly they set the woods on fire themselves come to think of it.... Anyway, be ready for anything out there, and we'll all hope for the best. Willie-O
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: catspaw49 Date: 14 Jun 00 - 11:38 PM Geeziz, I'm sorry Willie....It was "Always." Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss, John Goodman. I think the fire idea made me think "Blaze" which I also like. Not completely historically accurate either, but a good and funny, well acted movie about Louisiana governor and pol, Earl Long (Huey's brother) and Blaze Starr, a stripper and his mistress of sorts. Paul Newman and Lolita Davidovich. I found out later that the book about Blaze Starr was written by a guy I was in college with. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Willie-O Date: 15 Jun 00 - 09:28 AM That's kind of what I thought...Goodman is hilarious as "Always", but he's a bit big to be a fire pilot. See him more as a ground man. But enough chit chat. What's the situation this morning? The The Wildland Fire update--which Alice posted earlier in this thread --isn't updated today yet (9:25 a.m. EST). Willie-O |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Jun 00 - 10:03 AM The latest on the National coverage isn't too good and the Weather Channel tends to back this up. Hot, dry, and windy conditions are giving the fires the upper hand. There's no predicted relief until Saturday and that still appears "iffy" at best. Hopefully we hear from our guys soon. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 15 Jun 00 - 10:05 AM I finally decided that the scuba diver in the forest fire had to be an urban legend because too many people were reporting it as having been in too many newspapers. Keep us posted on real life, otherwise, we are all worrying! Wetness to you, |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Rex Date: 15 Jun 00 - 10:22 AM Hey LEJ, I'll take you up on that. The 'snort is still standing and so am I. But I'm a bit sore from hauling firewood and brush and such away from the house. Um, by the way, what _are_ those BLM frequencies? Huh? Pretty please? I found a web site that had them for the front range but there isn't much happening on them. A lot of griping elsewhere from the amateur radio guys about how BLM took over and shooed them away. "We don't need you now." You speak of aircraft, I was seeing some that were a dead ringer for the old Dakota or DC3 but they had four engines. Now I know they are DC4's. Well that makes sense then. I saw one that I am sure was a B18. That's an old bird. Ah, the fire report for ye all: Going up on a rocky dome behind the house instead of seeing solid smoke with flames peeking through, it is smoke here and there. The fire bombers and crew (I hear there are over a thousand of them now) made good headway yesterday. The report is 25% contained.The lack of wind sure helped. Oh, and last word was that the Eldorado fire near Boulder is completely contained. All the crews are bracing for high winds predicted today. That's going to make things hard for the crews. Thank the good Lord that no one has been seriously hurt or killed. There was a firetruck that was damaged when the fire "passed over" it. What an understatement. The crew fled to a house and escaped the blaze. They were airlifted out and treated for smoke inhallation. We have some friends coming in from Ohio today. I know 'Spaw, they will straighten this thing out. They called from West Kansas last night after seeing the news. We assured them that we are still here and they have a place to stay. Don't know how this will all turn out but our friends will have something to talk about when they return home. I was also on the phone with Steve, our guitar player. Some of you met him at EJ's. He has the cars all packed and ready to pull out if need be. I'll let you know what happens today. Rex |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: SINSULL Date: 15 Jun 00 - 11:01 AM Again. Be safe. Take care of you and yours. SS |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Willie-O Date: 15 Jun 00 - 12:06 PM Thanks for the update Rex. Regarding vintage aircraft: are there any Canso PBY-5 water bombers in use like the one Goodman flew in "Always"? I have a sentimental affection for these cause I had a plastic model of one hanging from my ceiling when I was a kid--I think that whatever their virtues as an aircraft may or may not be, they're (weird-looking) art in flight. Since the Canso is a flying boat, it was a natural to convert to water bomber use. The Urban Legends Page definitely states that the scuba diver in a tree is a hoax. They have this and more to say about it:
Origins: The tragic tale of the unfortunately scooped diver has been with us at least since 1987. Told at various times as having happened in California or France, to date there's not been so much as one charred scuba diver recovered from the aftermath of a forest fire in either location. (You'll also sometimes hear of a fisherman found in a tree, still determinedly clutching his fishing pole even in his extra-crispy state of final repose. None of them has been found, either.) Willie-O |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 15 Jun 00 - 12:43 PM Lej, I trust your wife is still safely catching blues bands in the south of England while this drama unfolds around you. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Jun 00 - 01:42 PM Thank you for the research Willie. Its always nice to put those babies to bed! But I heard it was a Briarhopper with his still in a mysterious, river water, ice block at the rear of a Radio Shack store in Colorado. Any info on that? We're all thinking of you.......just passing the time as we wait and hope for the best. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: sophocleese Date: 15 Jun 00 - 01:57 PM Still checking in on you guys and glad to hear you're still safe. Hope it stays that way and that things improve. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Metchosin Date: 15 Jun 00 - 02:00 PM Willie-O, for sure, they don't have the big Martin Mars beomoths covering the fires down there, too bad, they make the others look like dinky toys. It could be that there isn't large enough water surfaces to scoop from in the area, to make them logistically useful. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: katlaughing Date: 15 Jun 00 - 03:26 PM It is cold and rainy here in Wyoming and supposed to be south in Cheyenne and what happens there usually either comes up from Colorado or goes down, so here's hoping the Cloud Powers do their thing. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: katlaughing Date: 15 Jun 00 - 10:19 PM I don't like what I just heard on NPR; said they'd had to evacuate a bunch more people this a.m. due to shifting winds. Did get an email from WyoWoman and she is here, in Casper, packing up to really move south, but some of her hardware is in Colorado already...anyone know how it is in Evergreen? And, how 'bout it, LeeJ, Rex, anyone else? Ya still with us? luvyakat |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Lonesome EJ Date: 16 Jun 00 - 12:30 AM I'm pretty tired tonight, but wanted to post an update. Today was panicky from the start. Gusting wind and heat. I arrived at my store to see the entire area smoked in, and then the rumors started: the fire had broken through the 285 fire line, it was burning toward Conifer mountain, we would be evacuated by 2 PM. A man yelled at me from across the parking lot "Please help me! I've got three horses aand dogs and cats at my house, and I can't get this scanner programmed! I can't seem to concentrate on anything!" so I programmed his scanner and sent him on his way. People were running through the parking lot. It was like the Titanic after the flares went up. Then the winds reversed and we gained a respite. Trucks are parked all over town with California, Oregon, Wyoming plates. The Wyoming fire brigade has cool little enclosed, metal-tracked vehicles with large tanks , and they can shoot intense streams of water in 180 degrees. Fire Assault Vehicles. And I never thought I'd be so happy to see so many California plates on vehicles in Colorado. Bless 'em all. Tonight clouds have come in, and temps are in the 40's, so we may have a better day tomorrow. They are estimating two weeks until the thing is totally under control though. Rex R is fine...he called me this evening for more scanner frequencies. Praise the Lord and pass the slurry...... LEJ |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: katlaughing Date: 16 Jun 00 - 12:38 AM Oh, LeeJ, thanks for taking the time to let us know how you are...rest, dear one, if you can, and bless your heart...we are sending all we can in thoughts and prayers and love... |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Jun 00 - 12:58 AM I leave for Atlanta for a weekend drop-off of the kids with their aunt tomorrow morning and I'm glad to see things are still holding. You will be in our thoughts. Leej, as I pass through the Bluegrass state, I'm picking up me a case of Ale8One......wanna' bottle or two bro? Be safe. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Lonesome EJ Date: 16 Jun 00 - 02:08 AM Spaw...A Late One,indeed,make 'er a six. Say Howdy to Winchester and the ole RR Gorge. I spent many a lost weekend thereabouts ramblin' amongst the arches and domes. Ever been to Nada? Used to be a hand-painted sign put up by some local there, said Drive slow- You Might Meet a Fool, engendering many campside stories concerning "the Fool". Beautiful place. Spiders big as your fist. If you ever get to Rockcastle County say hello to my family. Everybody there is related, and I'm related to all of 'em. Lonesome Ex-Briarhopper EJ |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: jeffp Date: 16 Jun 00 - 08:24 AM EJ and Rex - glad to hear you guys are still hanging in there. Hope the weather allows the firefighters to get a handle on things. Still praying for you all here in Maryland. jeffp |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: SINSULL Date: 16 Jun 00 - 08:43 AM This morning's news looks promising. Stay safe. SS |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Rex Date: 16 Jun 00 - 10:55 AM This morning it is cold. In the thirties. And still, the wind is gone for now. Maybe we will get some rain, or snow. Yesterday was a bit hairy. A plan was put together to evacuate the mountain but it didn't happen. Then the clouds and cool air came in from the north like the cavalry and saved us. There was little slurry traffic yesterday. I haven't seen any of the flying boats but sure would love to. I've been grateful that no one was hurt in the fire but found out yesterday that a firefighter rolled firetruck on Tuesday. Last I heard he was in the hospital in critical condition. These guys put it all on the line. I was listening on the radio to a crew that was hunkering down in a meadow after being entirely surrounded by burning trees. They just had to wait it out until the trees burned out. Our friends got in late yesteday. At one point I thought they might not be able to get up here. Or my wife, she was in town when things got worse. It's good to have everyone here. Now we have more hands on deck for hauling things out of here. No, I don't think it will come to that now. Many thanks for the radio frequencies EJ. Rex |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 16 Jun 00 - 01:02 PM What's a briarhopper? A bootlegger? |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Alice Date: 16 Jun 00 - 01:34 PM It has been cool and rainy here for at least a week, and I thought for sure some of this wetness would go south to you. Here's hoping. The rain coming through my roof would do better down on your mountain. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Lonesome EJ Date: 16 Jun 00 - 01:53 PM "Briar-hopper" or "Briar" are terms of admiration used by Ohioans, Indianans, and other similarly deprived neighbors of Kentucky, to describe Kentuckians, a race of humans who can easily leap over thorny problems, due to our high degree of intellectual agility. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Alice Date: 16 Jun 00 - 01:57 PM good answer, LEJ. The smoke has not slowed you down a bit. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: BlueJay Date: 16 Jun 00 - 02:05 PM I really hope I'm right on this. Todays Denver Post stated that a fortuitious wind shift has sent the main brunt of the fire to the South, away from the more populated areas. Our Mudcat brothers live a few mile North of U.S. Highway 285, and the fire is burning to the south of the highway. The strategy seems to be making 285 a fire line, which Rex indicates has already been breeched. From what I've heard, they are making the 285 fire line a top priority. Maybe the change in direction will allow the firefighters more time to reenforce the 285 line. I hope so. In places, the corridor is quite wide, but in other spots it is just 20 or 30 feet of road carved through the pines. Of course, this was from this mornings newspaper and TV accounts. Things can change quickly. Plus I'm not sure how well the media even knows what's going on. Evacuees seem to be unable to find out if their homes are safe or lost. For what it's worth, you can check the many human interest stories at www.denverpost.com. I'll try the little blue monster: click here |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: katlaughing Date: 16 Jun 00 - 02:08 PM LeeJ, I have just emailed your answer to my son, Colin, in *Luhlvllh*; he'll enjoy that one! Just got off the phone with WyoWoman..she says to say hi and stay safe. She is all packed & leaving Casper tomorrow. Appreciates people's concern and will be back amongst us as soon as she gets her gear set up in her new house. We've had more cold and rain, too. Alice, if we both start huffin' and puffin' maybe we can prime those clouds to move on south.:-) kat |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Lonesome EJ Date: 16 Jun 00 - 08:19 PM 5:55 PM. Thanks to all those whose prayers and good energy sent us a cloudy, cold and misty day. Everyone here has a smile on their face due to the gray, drizzly, miserable weather that has come to our rescue. Things here, at least for today, are looking a whole lot better. A lot of folks are being allowed back into their homes, or at least to the sites where their houses used to be. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Little Neophyte Date: 16 Jun 00 - 10:00 PM Very happy to hear the weather changes LEJ & Rex Thanks for keeping us posted You guys must be exhausted Maybe I'll do another rain dance tonight Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Rex Date: 17 Jun 00 - 09:28 AM This morning it's 33 degrees outside and snowing like crazy. The good Lord has sent us snow and saved us like Dorothy and her friends in Oz. It probably froze my potatoes once again this year but hey, it saved all our houses. Elaine and I ventured out yesterday. There was a forest ranger at the Safeway store with a large map of the fire. It got closer than I thought. We stopped to visit EJ and he gave me a copy of the music we played at his place. Many thanks again! We went over the the high school and the red cross is still set up and folks were bringing in food and clothes. We tried to find out the condition of our harp players cabin but didn't get much info there. We met Steve's wife. Steve came to EJ's place during Bill and Allen's visit. They are still at their house but are the only ones still in the area. People are being allowed back to their homes again. The firefighters are still going to have to mop this up for a week or more but it looks like its over. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. We're going to enjoy visiting with our friends and this local reporter on the scene is going to sign off and go fishing. I'll log on in a few days but I think my daily reports are no longer needed. Hurrah for that! Rex |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: alison Date: 17 Jun 00 - 10:14 AM Glad to hear you're all OK slainte alison |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: AllisonA(Animaterra) Date: 17 Jun 00 - 10:16 AM Ive been following this with bated breath and I'm so grateful you both/all are well and that it's over for you. I lived in Colo as a child and have visited about once every 10 years- it's an amazingly beautiful place. May the healing of the land begin. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Crowhugger Date: 17 Jun 00 - 10:34 AM Thanks goodness, and thank all the prayers and visualizations. CH. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Alice Date: 17 Jun 00 - 11:09 AM Rex and LEJ, this is a relief for us to read. The snow has been on all our mountain peaks here for a few days. I'm glad it made its way down to you. Yesterday I went to a homeschool book sale exchange. I found two really good old school songbooks. One is songs from "many lands", lots of German, Polish, Russian, and more. The other is a book from the 60's for junior high. It has a section called the "singing voice" with advice for teens on how to sing through their voice changing. Here's a song from that book.
SIGNS OF WEATHER
Evening red and morning grey,
Evening red and morning grey,
Thankful it snowed. Alice |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Alice Date: 17 Jun 00 - 11:25 AM From the elementary school book, 1936, Songs of Many Lands A haunting melody in Eflat.
SILVER RAIN
1. Winding over the hill,
Each with flickering lance,
2. All the fluttering trees,
Under watery boughs, |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Metchosin Date: 17 Jun 00 - 12:21 PM Beautiful songs Alice, a good find. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: BlueJay Date: 17 Jun 00 - 01:19 PM Rex and LEJ, thanks for your updates through all of this. I'm so happy, it looks like you can concentrate on music again. Probably the rest of us, too. Nice songs, Alice. BlueJay |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Escamillo Date: 17 Jun 00 - 01:48 PM Very glad to see that it's over. My best wishes for the fast recovery of the region and that never a disaster like this happens again. It makes me think how weak and vulnerable we are with all our science and technology, when the disaster strikes. Un abrazo - Andrés |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: SINSULL Date: 17 Jun 00 - 02:43 PM Amazing what a few well meaning people can accomplish just by wanting it to be. I am only half joking. Eat Instant Potatoes this year LEJ and love them. Much better than baked. Time to turn the energy back to Big Mick, Darla and Jim. Happy Saturday! Rex. |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Big Mick Date: 18 Jun 00 - 01:06 AM Thanks be for the gift of the snow for our friends. I have been reading this one and worrying for our friends. Glad the snow came. Big Mick |
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Subject: RE: Colorado Forest Fire From: Rex Date: 30 Mar 12 - 01:26 PM I was thinking this might already be posted but here you go. The Lower North Fork Fire is 45% contained. It shows you what 500 fire-fighters on the ground, tens of slurry bombers and tens more of helecopters can do with 4500 burning acres. The helecopters stationed on Norm Meyer's ranch are gone now. The losses are hard, two are confirmed dead. I had seen Sam and Linda Lucas around town. I know a woman still has not been found. About twenty-five houses are burned or destroyed. But I am grateful no fire-fighters have been killed or injured. 2002 was bad year for fires. Aside from the Hayman fire, WWII slurry bombers were circling over us in the Black Mountain fire. I was jumping up and down in my driveway and waving my hat cheering them on. One them went down in a fire later that Summer killing all on board. I put the tune "Fire on the Mountain" on my latest CD in remembrance of those lost and appreciation for all fire-fighters. Where would we be without you? Rex |
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