fire!

So the big news around here is the fire that blazes some 20 miles southwest.  It started Saturday morning, the result of a lightning strike.  B.J. and I took the kids to the swimming area at the nearby lake around 11 AM that morning and immediately noticed the plume of smoke rising in the west like a giant thunderhead.  When we got home B.J. looked online and confirmed that yes, it was a forest fire that covered about 200 acres.  By Sunday afternoon, the fire had exploded to over 18,000 acres.  I took the photo of the cloud of smoke below from our backyard (please disregard our trusty, rusty garden shed ;-) on Sunday afternoon.

This photo I took from the church parking lot after the evening service - the cloud of smoke rises like a massive tree line in the west.

Last night B.J. and I got the kids in their pjs and then went for a drive to catch a better view of the blaze that now covers over 40,000 acres.  We didn't get very close.  The photo below shows the charred front range on the left, lots of smoke, and, on the right, a line up of cars full of people who also wanted a closer look.  

In this photo you can see the charred mountains again, a flare up, and two planes - helicopters, bi-planes, and bombers (headed to drop slurries on the fire) flew over our house consistently yesterday.

The smoke and the front range silhouetted against the setting sun:

Depending on which way the wind is blowing, a lot of smoke lingers in the air here.  Both Saturday night and last night I sacred awake because I smelled smoke in the house.  Some people have had ash in their homes.  The good news is that I read a report this morning that said that fire crews made good progress fighting the blaze yesterday.  

O my God, make Your enemies like the whirling dust,

Like the chaff before the wind!

As the fire burns the woods,

And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,

So pursue them with Your tempest,

And frighten them with Your storm.

Fill their faces with shame,

That they may seek Your name, O Lord.

Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;

Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,

That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord,

Are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 83:13-18