Black Forest Fatalities

I'm living at Rosie's this week... and we had a hum-dinger of a lightning storm right over the house last night.  Rosie shivered and shook at the foot of the bed, and I curled up around her, talking and petting and stroking.  She finally relaxed, and ended up sleeping beside me all night.  Lovey and Nedi were happy with my early morning return, and are outside, playing with the squirrels and ravens.  I'm ready to take a nap, and I've only been up for 2 1/2 hours...  I guess I didn't sleep well.
  The Black Forest fire is now 85% contained; the home toll has risen to 509, with 28 homes damaged; and the two victims of the fire have been identified.  The couple were employees of the Innovation Division of Space Command's Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations Directorate.  The husband was a software developer and his wife a US Air Force civilian contractor; they were working for Schriever Air Force Base. Apparently the husband was a gun enthusiast and there was quite a bit of ammunition, as well as propane tanks in and around the home.  The couple were trying to remove all of these for the safety of the firefighters.  The person who spoke to them by telephone at 5 p.m. Tuesday said they heard "popping noises" in the background.  The fire apparently swept over the couple in their garage extremely rapidly after the call. There are still 937 homes in the Black Forest burn area that are under evacuation orders, and the evacuation area cover 9,830 acres.
   We expecting highs in the low 90s for the rest of the week, with low humidity, and gusty afternoon winds.  That is just what the fire demons like...

Wildfires, Zenyatta, & the Eastern Shore

Things look a little better today, regarding the wildfires in Colorado - we have more containment, cooler temperatures, and a chance of rain for the next three days.  Unfortunately, the rain also means chances for lightning - otherwise, it's great news.  What is sobering is the report that 473 homes have been destroyed by the Black Forest fire, and the fire is now about 30% contained.  Pets and livestock, mostly horses, are missing - one can view and/or post missing pets and livestock on the KUSA website at  http://www.9news.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=340858 .  One family believes they are lucky; they lost their house, but their 27 assorted animals and their barn are safe.  Their horses, cats, dogs, birds, and pigs all survived; they plan on rebuilding the house.    The Royal Gorge wildfire is reported as being 65% contained.  A new wildfire broke out yesterday, the Ward Gulch fire, close to Rifle Mountain Park, was started by lightning, and the last I heard, had expanded to over 400 acres with no containment.  Several structures were at risk, and the Park was evacuated.  There will be a live update on the status of all of the fires at 10 a.m. MDT; I'll update as needed.
   Zenyatta, Queen Z, the Spanish-walking retired racehorse has been confirmed in foal to War Front.  Her first foal, a yearling named CoZmic One, is a colt by Bernardini; this year, she produced a chestnut colt by Tapit.  It will be interesting to see what this mating to War Front will bring...
   On the Eastern Shore, a sinkhole opened up in a lane of US 13, Lankford Highway, near Keller.  It drew a lot of attention from locals on their way in to work.  ....  Two people took a 6-foot inflatable dinghy out into the Atlantic from  the northern end of Assateague Island, near Ocean City, Maryland.  They had to be rescued by the US Coast Guard, as the current quickly took them away from the shore.  The folks had no water, no food, no flares, no radio, no life vests, and no sun block with them.  Luckily, a chartered fishing boat saw them and reported them so they could be rescued. (My opinion: Idiots. Let Darwin's Law take care of them.) ....  And, finally, for the first time since the Civil War, a State Senator from the Eastern Shore, Ralph Northam, of Onancock, is running for Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia.  I'd vote for him, were I still living there.