My Beautiful State is Crying

Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs

Not all of Colorado is on fire, but it does feel that way. Colorado is my home state by choice. I moved here after college because I wanted to be in the mountains. I have lived here my entire adult life and I am crying for it. Although none of the fires are close enough to be us in danger personally, it is very smokey and very, very hot. It has been over 100 degrees for five days. It used to be rare to get one day in the 100's, and only a handful of days in the 90's. Now 90's seems to be the norm. 

Apparently, there are about 12 fires currently burning in Colorado right now. 32,000 people were evacuated from Colorado Springs because the fire is coming into the city itself. It is no longer just the mountain homes in danger. Colorado Springs is about 60 miles south of us and Boulder is 40 miles north of us. Both have fires, and the fire in Ft. Collins has been burning for over two weeks now.

We live in an area similar to this. In fact, in previous years, we have been evacuated twice, so we are very nervous. One lightning strike and this could be us too. We have a 'go bag' ready because of the fire that was close to us in the spring.