A year ago today, I was backpacking high in the Flattops Wilderness, about 100 miles - as the crow flies - from my home. That afternoon, as I climbed up onto a 12,000 foot ridge, I noticed that the sky was perfectly clear. However, as I glanced to the northeast, I noticed one HUGE cumulus cloud. But as I took a second look, I realized it was not a cloud at all; it was a huge plume of forest fire smoke! The next day, on my drive home, I finally came into an area that had cell phone service. There, I called my wife to tell her I was on my way home. "You're not going to be able to return using the normal route," she advised. "We have a huge forest fire going on right now. The whole town is filled with smoke. When I go out the front door, the entire ridge two miles to the west is all aflame!"
That day - June 9th - the High Park Fire began when lightning struck a tree in a mountainous area 45 minutes from our house. It grew to 87,250 acres and ended up destroying 259 homes. It was the second largest fire in Colorado's recorded history, and set a record for destroying the most homes. (Exactly two weeks later, the Waldo Canyon Fire began near Colorado Springs. It quickly broke High Park Fire's record when 346 homes were destroyed).
I've spent the past year recording the beauty that resulted from that tragic fire. I hope you've enjoyed the photos! This summer, we here in northeast Colorado are having a lush spring. The rest of the state, however, is enduring extreme drought conditions. It appears that will become an ever more frequent reality all across the West.
Photo: Plume from the High Park Fire, viewed from the Chinese Wall in the Flattops Wilderness (CO) on June 9, 2012
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