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Posted on 06/26/2012 8:00:18 PM PDT by nuconvert
This is the Waldo Canyon fire. Winds grew to 65mph this afternoon and the fire went over the fire-breaks.
The Air Force Academy and surrounding neighborhood have been evacuated.
Interstare I-25 has been closed north of Colorado SPrings in order to allow local people use the highway to evacuate.
I’m watching the live feeds. Unbelievable! We have been trying to get my father in law to leave since Saturday. I’m so grateful he finally did. He lives about 5 houses from the south side of garden of the gods.....
Praying.
Meanwhile, in totally unrelated news:
http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=6832392
Al-Qaida calls for ‘forest jihad’
By Stewart Bell, National Post June 24, 2012
The latest issue of the al-Qaida propaganda publication Inspire contains the usual dose of narcissism, delusional threats and overwrought tributes to dead terrorists, but what is striking is the space it devotes to an unexpected target: trees.
Eleven pages of the online magazine are handed over to discussions about starting forest fires in NATO countries, providing both a tactical and religious justification for it, and an illustrated step-by-step guide on how to do it using a device made out of gasoline and a washing machine timer.
“Fire is one of the soldiers of Allah,” it says.
The threat underscores al- Qaida’s evolving strategy. All but incapable of organizing another mass outrage like 9/11, Islamist terrorists have instead begun encouraging acts of “individual jihad,” in which a lone fanatic plans and carries out an attack close to home.
Among the targets of individual jihad listed in Inspire - which is put together by al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen, the branch that has attempted several attacks in the West - are political figures, media outlets, airports, bridges, stock exchanges and “places where Jews are gathered,” but also forests.
Lightning, campfires and industry account for most of the fires that set Canada’s forests ablaze every summer, consuming an area more than three times the size of Prince Edward Island and costing up to $1 billion. But should Canada be concerned about terrorists using fire as a weapon?
“If A-Q takes it seriously, so ought we,” said Martin Rudner, distinguished research professor emeritus at Carleton University. “The fact that this mission appeared in Inspire, which is intended to promote jihadist activities on the part of English-speaking Muslims in the West, is indicative that it is a serious threat.”
Whether Ottawa is taking it seriously is hard to say. Federal public safety and natural resources officials said firefighting was a provincial responsibility and declined to discuss it further for “operational reasons.” The Ontario government said it was aware of the threat, but B.C. was not.
Rudner said forests are not considered part of Canada’s critical infrastructure and so they do not benefit from counter-terrorism programs that safeguard other sectors like energy. “Thus, to the best of my knowledge, there are no particular critical infrastructure protection programs in place, at either the federal or provincial levels, to protect our forests against jihadist or other terrorist fire-setting.”
Calls for a “forest jihad” date back at least to 2007, when online radicals suggested that setting fires would not only kill citizens of Western countries, but also cause pollution and economic damage while exhausting police and emergency services.
The idea gained traction in 2008, during Australia’s wildfire emergency. In 2009, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security bulletin noted “growing interest in ‘forest jihad’ among terrorists,” but found no credible evidence it was a genuine threat to the U.S. “Considering the appeals posted in al-Qaida forums, the possibility exists for arson to be used as a terrorist tool,” it allowed.
The tactic resurfaced with new prominence last month when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula put its latest edition of Inspire online.
“It is your freedom to ignite a firebomb,” read a headline on the cover. Photos inside showed apocalyptic scenes of burning forests.
An article purportedly penned by al-Qaida figure Abu Musab Al-Siri encouraged “ordinary resistance fighters among the Muslims residing in America and the allied Western countries” to engage in “popular resistance action such as destroying economic targets and burning forests during hot periods in the summer.”
B.C.’s Wildfire Management Branch said while it was unaware of the threats it was ready to respond to all fires. Arson fires are often the least destructive since they tend to occur near populated areas and are quickly reported.
“The public reports half of all fires started in B.C., and we also have sophisticated systems that prompt us to new fire starts so we can respond quickly,” said spokeswoman Alyson Couch, adding “93 per cent of unwanted fires are extinguished at less than four hectares in size.”
© Copyright (c) The Province
That’s my prayer; it’s like, come soon Lord. A friend of mine is heading to Colorado as a volunteer with his fire team and I’m praying for him and all the crews working on this and the people (and pets!) fleeing it.
But, but.. The ‘War on Terror’ is over according to the regime. Maybe this is just ‘outdoor workplace violence’? Looks like the Feds have done just as good a job fighting Jihadism as they have illegal immigration.
TSA presence will proliferate as a result of this. Maybe that’s the plan.
Prayers up for the Springs and all of Colorado...my favorite state. I have friends and co-workers in the area. I took my daughter to Manitou Springs a few years back. Like a little New Egland town in the mountains.
I am so sorry to hear that. I’ve been through the Garden of the Gods, took my daughter riding there. THe Springs is one of my favorite places. I pray for everyone’s dafety and the safety of the animals and livestock.
Rain is being predicted for this afternoon.
Let’s hope it’s a good soaking rain with little lightning.
I am almost totally unaware of this - -
Have a daughter in Littleton - 30 minutes south of Denver, and 60 minutes north of CO Springs.
Strange she hasn’t text anything.
A short time - a few weeks? - back she did say some smoke was giving her a migraine. . .
I will text her Wed.
Remember, C.S. is the home of Michelle Malkin - yes?
Thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2899890/posts
Video by local resident from June 26 2012
About 2 min into the video they show the garden of the gods
Around 22:00 they show the fire up close – truck stop near Monument
And the mention the evacuation area is area south of garden of the gods and west of 25
Colorado Springs on fire - June 26th, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqK54gv8uT8&feature=player_embedded
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3414512772910&set=a.1926366210176.2093005.1572784012&type=1
Thanks—I’m testing and not very confident. I have an ipad and have not been able to do some of the things I’ve done with my laptop. Probably just need to go to Apple and take a class.
This picture is taken at the commissary at the Air Force Academy.
Thanks for the info.
Okay, that was really dumb of me. I just posted a picture from facebook from someone my nephew knows who took the pictures of the fire. I give up. I tried photobucket and did not work. IPAD does not use flash, so that might be the problem. I would appreciate not posting on this persons facebook page. My sister and nephew are going to kill me.
With fires going on to the north of us and to the south of us, I really haven’t smelled a whole lot of smoke up here in Aurora (east of Denver). Just on occasion a few weeks back I was wondering who was having a fire in their fireplace in the summer? I know some people have been complaining about it though.
Here’s a good video of the Waldo fire from June 26th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yonHZ0jxnG4&;
Here’s Malkin’s account:
Day 5 of Waldo Canyon Fire evacuation: Blaze engulfs homes/historic ranch; 32k total evacuated;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2899890/posts
We were just in the Garden of the Gods the weekend before last. Such a beautiful area. Didn’t imagine this would happen.
Oh thanks...Hopefully they get a handle on them soon. The Insurance companies are going to be bankrupt between these fires and the flooding in Florida.
When people say insurance companies make big money, many times they are looking at the good years. I bad year like this, many times, wipes out years of profits. This fire looks like it could take out a company or two.
I haven't heard anything about a fire in Cottonwood. Can you offer up any statistics or other info for me?
Thanks.
CA....
I think this fire will hit USAA very hard. Most of the houses in that area belong to military folk; mainly USAF.
I am so sorry - and I apologize.
That is the insurance I have, USAA. We just had hail damage a few weeks back in Colorado Springs. My husbands truck had $2800 worth of damage. It’s in the shop now.
I watched that hailstorm while staying at the Olympic Training Center in COS. That was quite a storm. We surely could use a storm like it now.
There are fires up in Wyoming, over in Utah, and down in New Mexico and Arizona. The weather has been so dry for so long, everything everywhere is tinder dry.
We're just coming off 5 straight days of record-breaking 100+ degree weather (tied for the longest ever run of such temperatures), and most everywhere, humidity runs in single digits.
The wind is a constant problem, and it's exacerbated where these wildfires run.
We're supposed to cool down to 98 today, but they said the same thing about yesterday, which turned out to be 105. Thunderstorms are in the forecast, it's true, but local weather person Kathy Sabine estimates the Flagstaff fire was the result of no less than 51 lightening strikes in that area within a very short time frame.
Where I am, right now it's not too bad, but should the wind shift to the West, that will change in quick order.
Playing golf is problematic, as the air generally stinks. Damned if I'll draw that stuff into my lungs!
CA....
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This is the html you need to post the picture in reply 5 on this thread. The picture has to be on the web or some photo hosting page. Right click the picture, go to the properties tab and copy / paste between the <and> without any spaces.
For the most I agree with your opinion that most of the time people wanting blame is part of this need for people to not believe there are random occurrences. However, in regards to these firesbI believe they could have been prevented or at least limited with controlled burns. The Western US is designed to burn, it’s part of the natural cycle there and Nature’s way of clearing brush. With controlled burns, these required burns take place piecemeal and under the watch of firefighters.
I have heard from persons in the know that there is a sequence to responses to a forest fire; you just can’t water bomb a small fire into submission asap. It has to grow and consume a lot of acres before aircraft are summoned.
I’ve also heard that the Forest Service is bogged into near-submission by red tape and union rules. The way their spokesperson talks, she was hired to do just that.....yabber.....yabber....yabber.
Word here is that the Air Force Academy acted on its own, creating fire breaks with their own bulldozers; bypassing the federal fire authority. I haven’t seen that yet, but raise a glass to them is they did.
Thanks for the link, cornfedcowboy
Evacuation orders were just announced for Woodland Park. They were previously under pre-evac orders.
Well dang. That sounds pretty bad for Woodland Park. As steep as it is there it will be hard to protect structures and homes I imagine.
The leftist aka progressive treehuggers are blaming this fire on global warming. Not the simply fact. They have prevent harvesting the forest of America. Better known as forest thinning. There are more trees per acre of land in America today. Which is part of the problem. Then before them there evil Europeans arrived. More trees on the same acre of land. Makes for weaker trees. It means they burn better. The leftist aka progressive treehuggers do not want to see tree stumps. They prefer forest fires that basically clear cut the forest. Nothing but chicken little morons. Killing the planet. In the name of saving the planet
Yup - Academy Riding Stables..fond memories of that trip. I sent them email hoping they’re ok. Spoke to a co-worker nearby (south of the Springs), air quality is terrible. Prayers for all affected.
Thanks much!
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