My heart is aching today for several reasons, one being the fires burning my beloved Colorado Springs.
Please send your prayers across the miles for the firefighters and their families, helpless people and animals affected by this act of mother nature.
A recent update from goColorado (source of image above and below) confirmed that the High Park Fire is now 60% contained. This is the fire burning near Fort Collins. Firefighters have put in nearly 250,000 hours (translates to 18 years of work) on this blazing inferno. God bless them!
As many of you know, Colorado Springs was our home for about 4 years. The fire threatening the city has brought out a whirlwind of emotions from me. The fire began in Waldo Canyon. We have spent a lot of time in this canyon. It was our favorite hikes in the area. We have hiked the Waldo trail numerous times.
Hiking Waldo Canyon in 2008. |
Rocks on the outer rim of the canyon that overlook Highway 24, taken in 2008. |
Hiking Waldo Canyon after we got engaged in 2012. |
We even suggested to our guests at the wedding that they go hike Waldo Canyon. Did we curse it? I hate this stupid fire. I understand that mother nature must do her thing, but the trees will grow back. But now the fire is threatening the city. People’s homes are burnt down. They had 30 minutes to evacuate — how do you do that? Do you grab things you need like clothes or do you gather up your wedding pictures, baby pictures, items with sentimental value? How can you possibly get everything out in that amount of time?
You can follow news updates of the Waldo Canyon wildfire here. They have maps showing what is burning.
If you were at our wedding, you can recall that the Air Force Academy sits at the base of the mountains. Fortunately, it is far enough north that it is not really at risk, but I saw this picture posted on Facebook (source unknown) of the Chapel where we were married just two weeks ago. The cloud of smoke is constant over the academy grounds.
I recently learned that they have evacuated the base housing at the academy and now 300 cadets have been moved to my old stomping grounds, the University of Colorado campus. Most likely due to air quality concerns. The newest class of cadets reported today for basic training and is continuing as scheduled.
In addition, please keep friends of ours and their families in your thoughts as they are going through a very difficult time. A brother/husband/son was killed in the line of duty, the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Pray for God’s strength for our service men and women in uniform who defend our country day in and day out, and for their families.
I believe in the power of prayer.
Cinderella says
O Emily. I will pray for your family. I am simply in tears right now reading that. I know that all these homes have burned and I have witnessed the flames myself but NOTHING is more important than someones life. My condolences go out to your family. Thank you and your family for the sacrafices you all have made for our freedom. You know where my heart lies in regards to our military. Will be praying.
Em, my mom has said the air quality has gotten much better and it seems as though "the giant is sleeping" at the moment. This should allow them to be able to make some headway today. Keep praying.
Sara Paterson says
I know we have not met yet, but I grabbed the link to your blog from the wives page on Facebook. I am just shocked at how similar our experiences have been. I graduated from uccs and the husband from usafa in 2012. We actually got married 2 weeks after you on June 25, 2012. One day before this fire came over into the city. I share your love for Colorado, I was born and raised there. Now in Columbus I have missed them even more. I have been reading this from the beginning and have loved getting to know you and "viper pilot" through this. So excited for you all and can't wait to read more into the blog. I had to comment on this one because it hits close to home for me as well. Hope everything is going well as you reach almost a year into your first real pcs 🙂