Holy shit
The small mountain town of South Fork, Colorado might be wholly consumed by the West Fork Fire. I've stopped through South Fork many a time on my way to Durango or Creede....
I'm pretty sure I know exactly where this photo was taken from in South Fork.
Photo taken of the West Fork Fire from South Fork, CO
Forest Service says slim chance of saving South Fork from West Fork Complex FireSOUTHFORK, Colo. - A massive wildfire is headed toward South Fork and fire managers have told the Associated Press that the chances of saving the town are slim.
South Fork was evacuated Friday morning as the 47-square-mile acre West Fork Fire moved closer. Wildland firefighters were teaming up with local firefighters to try to save the town, which is surrounded by forest.
Fire spokesman Penny Bertram told the AP that officials rate the chances of saving the town of about 400 full-time residents as "low to moderate."
Bertram says the hot, dry and windy weather along with large stands of beetle-killed trees are causing extreme fire behavior. While most fires actively burn four hours a day, this one is burning for 12.
The fire more than doubled overnight, hitting 29,911 acres by Friday morning, according to the Archuleta County Emergency Information website. Friday is the third straight day of red flag warnings for the area and "conditions are ideal for rapid fire spread and for the chances of any ignition source starting new fires," county officials said.
Experts called the wildfire's eruption Thursday "unprecedented" as it made a nearly to 7-mile run in a northeasterly direction at one point.
"The fire behavior we saw yesterday was so extreme, it was undocumented and unprecedented," said Eric Norton, a fire behavior analyst for the U.S. Forest Service's National Incident Management Organization.
I'm pretty sure I know exactly where this photo was taken from in South Fork.
Photo taken of the West Fork Fire from South Fork, CO
Forest Service says slim chance of saving South Fork from West Fork Complex FireSOUTHFORK, Colo. - A massive wildfire is headed toward South Fork and fire managers have told the Associated Press that the chances of saving the town are slim.
South Fork was evacuated Friday morning as the 47-square-mile acre West Fork Fire moved closer. Wildland firefighters were teaming up with local firefighters to try to save the town, which is surrounded by forest.
Fire spokesman Penny Bertram told the AP that officials rate the chances of saving the town of about 400 full-time residents as "low to moderate."
Bertram says the hot, dry and windy weather along with large stands of beetle-killed trees are causing extreme fire behavior. While most fires actively burn four hours a day, this one is burning for 12.
The fire more than doubled overnight, hitting 29,911 acres by Friday morning, according to the Archuleta County Emergency Information website. Friday is the third straight day of red flag warnings for the area and "conditions are ideal for rapid fire spread and for the chances of any ignition source starting new fires," county officials said.
Experts called the wildfire's eruption Thursday "unprecedented" as it made a nearly to 7-mile run in a northeasterly direction at one point.
"The fire behavior we saw yesterday was so extreme, it was undocumented and unprecedented," said Eric Norton, a fire behavior analyst for the U.S. Forest Service's National Incident Management Organization.