Posted on 04/17/2008 8:22:41 AM PDT by george76
'It was the most destructive thing I've ever seen' .
A day later, the sickly sweet smell of fire hung in the air. Tendrils of smoke rose from smoldering piles as the people of this small town got their first clear picture of the fury wrought by a leapfrogging blaze that consumed or heavily damaged two dozen buildings and left two firefighters dead.
Greg Korinek stood in silence Wednesday at the corner of Arkansas Avenue and Second Street, staring at a pile of ash and metal - the remnants of the mobile home where he had lived.
He had rushed to his house, hoping to grab something, but was driven away by the wind-whipped fire. Some residents speculated it was started by someone burning trash or weeds southwest of town, though the cause was still under investigation.
"The heat was so hot," Korinek said. "The fire was so powerful. It was the most destructive thing I've ever seen.
"There was nothing anybody could do to stop it."
The Ordway fire, which was 100 percent contained by Wednesday evening, was one of three.
A 15-square-mile blaze blackened a remote part of the Army's Fort Carson after claiming the life of a firefighting pilot.
And in the mountains of western Colorado, a fire burned about 1 1/2 square miles, damaged two buildings and slightly injured a fisherman.
Agents from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation were in town, seeking answers about the fire's origin.
(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...
Tendrils of smoke rose from smoldering ash Wednesday as the people of Ordway got their first clear picture of the fury wrought by a blaze that left two firefighters dead -- and eight children without dads.
Above, Jake and Cody Schwartz watch a news story about their fallen father.
In a separate fire at Fort Carson, a slurry pilot -- and father of four -- also was killed Tuesday.
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Ya know, nature really is that way...it's something "concrete jungle" dwellers don't seem to understand...
What horrible person took that picture??
>>The fire flexed its muscle and grew, finding fuel left in the wake of decades of land-use changes that came about as farmers sold off their water to Front Range cities. Ditches that once carried water to irrigated farmland now stood dry, clogged with weeds and brush. Towering cottonwood trees that once drank from the irrigated farmland stood dead, their bark and branches bone dry.
“All these dried-up fields are just a tinderbox,” said Chuck McClure, a board member of the Southeast Colorado Water Conservancy District.<<
There’s 3/4 of the problem. That and not clearing potential fuel from around the homes and buildings.
“What horrible person took that picture??”
Taking pictures at breaking news events is what a photojournalist does. By definition, they keep taking pictures of what is happening.
Not being able to achieve such a level of detachment, I dropped out of that field before really getting started.
However, if one believes in freedom of the press, and an informed public being the only safe repository of power in this Republic, a free press is essential.
Sometime, they are obnoxious, often seemingly unfeeling, but essential non the less.
Well, maybe “a necessary evil” would be more appropriate.
I grew up in the area (Rocky Ford). I left in 1980, but what I’ve heard is that the water rights were sold to provide water for Denver and the suburbs. The ditches are now dry and farming is not what it once was.
Creating a defensible space around one’s home is very important, as we know.
City lawyers from Boulder to...have been out-lawyering ( with their unlimited budget of city tax dollars ) small farmers all across the front range.
Many small farmers and ranchers have gone broke with lost water rights. Ditches that were dug by hand with mules in the 1800’s are clogged all over.
Sad.
Not just sold, but also stolen by lawyers from the front range cities.
Think Owens Valley vs LA.
Yup, sad.
There is nothing necessary about that photo...evil, yes.
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