wildfire

Perhaps you have heard of the fire burning in the hills west of Boulder. Last I heard, 7100 acres have burned, 3000 people live in the evacuation area, 92 structures are destroyed. Crazy. It started on Monday around 10am. Monday we just watched the plume of smoke grow and grow and it was soon no longer a plume but just a covering over the city and extending as far west and east and north as we could see. After dark, we could see the glow from the flames over the hills. There were high-speed winds on Monday which, naturally, caused the fire to spread incredibly quickly. Winds have died down, but yesterday the acreage burned doubled in size. Thunderstorms are forecast for today, which could be a blessing since the fire is at 0% containment still. Smoke in the city (at least by our apartment) is almost worse today than the previous days -- not as dark and thick but more spread. I couldn't see any of the foothills, except for kind of the ones further south, on my walk to campus today. I know at least one of the professors in my department is evacuated.

A few photos from throughout the day Monday: