Boulder fire coverage: Full containment expected by 8 p.m.

Rocky Mountain News

Published January 8, 2009 at 7:23 a.m.
Updated January 8, 2009 at 7:07 p.m.

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George Kochaniec Jr. © The Rocky/Copter4

Homes saved from the Olde Stage Road fire are seen from a helicopter north of Boulder early Thursday.

Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky

Bobra Goldsmith looks over the ruins of her home at the llama ranch she owns north of Boulder. "She lost 80 years of memories," says L'illette Vasquez, who works on the ranch and got Goldsmith out of the house before it burned down.

Photo by Paul Aiken © Daily Camera

Firefighters work on hot spots off Olde Stage Road outside Boulder on Thursday morning.

5 p.m.

Wild fires that forced hundreds from their homes were largely contained late this afternoon, according to Commander Phil West, Boulder County Sheriff commander.

West said he expected to declare the fires fully contained by 8 p.m.

Old Stage Road, the only area still closed late Thursday afternoon, is scheduled to reopen at 6:30 this evening, assuming winds don’t pick up again, West said.

Winds were calm through the morning but had begun to pickup in intensity by 10:30 and gusted throughout the day.

West said a helicopter kept on standby to drop water had not been able to fly because of the winds but he said it would remain on standby through the evening.

Residents returning to their homes were urged not to call 911 unless they saw blatant fire or there was an emergency. Reports of hot spots and smoke should be called in to 303-441-4444 (cq).

Though thousands of people were warned about the fire Wednesday afternoon, West estimated that just 1,300 to 1,400 homes were evacuated, about half in the Old Stage Road area and the rest around the Neva Road fire.

No significant injuries have been reported as a result of the fast-moving grass fires.

West credited the work of dozens of firefighters who worked through Wednesday night to conduct back burns.

“Firefighters made a heroic effort,” he said. In all about 25 agencies responded to the fires, which burned about 1,400 acres within a 3,700 acre area.

The fire near Neva Road and 45th was likely caused by downed power lines, West said, but the Old Stage Road fire’s cause was still not clear late Thursday afternoon. West said he could not rule out that it had been caused by humans.

.Two houses and three barns have been destroyed and at least one home damaged.

4:15 p.m.

The Sheriff's Office Incident Command Team said minutes ago that it expects to have the fire completely contained by 8 p.m. All residents who have been evacuated are being allowed to return to their homes, and Olde Stage Road was expected to reopen by 6:30 p.m.

According to the Boulder County Web site a replacement fire crew will be put in place by 7 p.m. to continue to monitor the status of the fire overnight and to contain hotspots.

3:15 p.m.

The Sheriff's Office Incident Command Team expects to open the Olde Stage Evacuation area and allow all residents to return home this evening around 6 p.m.

2:15 p.m.

Michael D. Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was among those forced to flee his home by the wildfires in Colorado's Boulder County.

Brown's home north of Boulder was spared, but he and his wife, Tamarra, spent Wednesday night at a friend's rental apartment in nearby Longmont. Brown said he took a "go kit" stuffed with medication and cash — something he kept handy during his FEMA tenure when he was called out on disasters.

Brown said he was working in his home office Wednesday when his Saint Bernard, Bogart, started barking at a sheriff's deputy in his driveway. The deputy told him he had to leave.

"To me it was, 'It's all automatic,"' Brown told The Associated Press. "No question in my mind. I didn't ask how far the fire was. They said it was mandatory." "I've seen these wildfires sprint in Montana and other places and it's just not worth it. I just grabbed my dogs and said let's go." Brown watched firefighters battle the blaze about a half-mile from his home.

"We never think of the fact that something like this can happen," Brown said. "One minute I'm sitting in my office and the next there is a deputy in my driveway telling me I have to leave.

"This kind of stuff can happen any time, anywhere." President George W. Bush appointed Brown to head FEMA in 2003.

Brown was heavily criticized for FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina and resigned afterward. He was ridiculed after Bush publicly praised him, saying he did a "a heck of a job," while thousands desperately waited for help.

Brown has worked as a consultant since leaving FEMA.

--Associated Press

1:26 p.m.

Fred and Candace Anders could see their home in the mountains from miles away on the flatlands.

But the retired couple couldn't go there today. The house they built themselves is in the middle of the area that was still considered unsafe.

"It would be really nice if we could go home," Candace said.

Unlike others who wondered whether their homes were still standing, the Anders knew their house had not been touched. All they had to do was look through their binoculars. The house is visible through a notch in the front row of peaks.

Candace said other homes in her area may be harmed, but she keeps the weeds down on her property.

The Anders spent the night in their car.

"We didn't sleep at all," Candace said. They parked in various places, looking through the binoculars every so often to make sure the house was still there.

The Anders took family photos, financial documents and their bloodhound when they were ordered to evacuate. The dog snored peacefully through the night, Candace said.

The couple may be able to stay with friends if the evacuation order continues for another night, they said.

--Berny Morson

1:22 p.m.

Reverse 911 calls rang more than 11,000 phones on the north side of Boulder as fire fighters struggled to predict which homes were in the path of a wind-driven ground fire.

The decision as to which homes receive the automated calls is made by fire crews, Cmdr. Phil West of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office explained today.

West said firefighters can specify entire subdivisions as call areas. Or they can specify geographic boundaries. For example, they can target calls to all homes within a mile of the fire boundary.

Either way, the call area is fed into a computer, West said. The actual calls are placed by a firm in Toronto, he said. The message — which in this case residents to evacuate the area — is recorded locally.

--Berny Morson

1:15 p.m.

Crestview Estates is now open for residents to return to their homes, authorities said.

Residents of other neighborhoods were allowed to return earlier today.

“I’m shaking and I’m so grateful we have our homes and our pets,” said Darlene Steiner, a resident of the Lake Valley Estates

neighborhood north of Boulder, as she inspected her home following an overnight evacuation.

12:06 p.m.

Hundreds of residents are being allowed to return to their homes today, including those in the Dakota Ridge subdivision and those living along Lee Hill Road, according to Boulder County Sheriff Cmdr. Phil West.

But Old Stage Road remains closed as about 150 firefighters continue to battle hot spots and protect individual residences. The fire is still just 30 percent contained.

Winds were calm through the morning but had begun to pick up in intensity by 10:30.

West said firefighters hoped to be able to conduct water drops using a helicopter that is now on standby, but he said heavy winds would sharply limit their ability to fly.

“It’s all contingent on the weather,” West said.

Though thousands of people were warned about the fire Wednesday afternoon, West estimated that just 600 to 700 homes had to be evacuated.

No serious injuries have been reported as a result of the fast-moving grass fire.

“There’s not a whole lot of active burning right now,” West said, and he credited the work of dozens of firefighters who worked through the night to conduct back burns.

“Firefighters made a heroic effort between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.,” he said.

West said the fire area encompassed about 3,700 acres but he said only 1,400 acres had actually burned as of late this morning.

Though there was speculation that downed power lines had sparked the blaze, West said no conclusive cause has been identified, although detectives are inspecting the burned areas.

Two houses and three barns have been destroyed and at least one other home damaged.

--Jerd Smith

11:46 a.m.

Almost all of the families evacuated for the Olde Stage Road Fire are being allowed home as firefighters gain ground on the blaze, spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said.

U.S. 36 and Lee Hill Road are now open, as is the Dakota Ridge neighborhood. Only people who live along Olde Stage Road and its small feeder roads remain evacuated, Huntley said.

Sheriff Joe Pelle said he's "very optimistic we'll have this controlled by the end of the day as long as the wind doesn't pick up."

If winds cooperate, firefighters might use air support to get greater containment, Huntley said.

--The Camera

10:22 a.m.

The gusting winds are stoking flames and smoke is rising west of U.S. 36.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said earlier today that -- if winds cooperated -- he was confident the fire could be contained by this afternoon.

But winds aren’t cooperating as gusts whip up the fire south of Lefthand Canyon in the foothills north of Boulder.

Only residents are being allowed back into the Dakota Ridge neighborhood west of U.S. 36. Authorities are barring non-residents from the area.

--Bill Scanlon

9:45 a.m.

Three large smokestacks rising from a stone fireplace are the most visible remains of 78-year-old Bobra Goldsmith’s once beautiful home.

A car blackened sits in the fire-ravaged garage.

A stone-and-concrete foundation shows the outlines of the once grand ranch house.

Meanwhile, a herd of alpacas and llamas graze less than 50 feet away.

All 105 llamas and 25 alpacas cared for at Goldsmith’s ranch at 4500 Neva Road, north of Boulder, had been rounded up by 9:30 a.m. today.

“We didn’t lose a single animal,” L’Illette Vasquez, ranch manager, said. “Bobra lost everything, all of her memories from 80 years. She’s in shock.”

Vasquez lives in a small house on the property which escaped damage. The ranch manager she invited Goldsmith to move into her house, but the ranch owner chose to stay with relatives in the area.

Large wood beams from Goldsmith’s house now lie on the stone foundation, so charred they look unworldly.

“She’ll never give up,” Vasquez said. “Bobra will rebuild. It’s just a matter of when and how.”

--Bill Scanlon

9 a.m.

At a morning briefing, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said “the fire is rapidly becoming more under control.”

“We’re very optimistic that it will be 100 percent contained by this afternoon, unless the winds whip back up,” he said.

The fire has charred 1,400 acres of grassland and was 30 percent contained this morning. Despite the wind-driven firestorm, only two homes and three barns were destroyed.

Pelle praised efforts by the efforts of firefighters, police and animal control officers to save homes and residents, remove livestock and pets.

“The efforts these people made was significant. Once the winds did die down enough to attack the fire, what they did was exhausting and downright heroic,” the sheriff said. “They saved several homes.”

One of the destroyed homes was located on Neva Road and the other was along U.S. 36 between Boulder and Nelson Road.

Authorities said 1,400 homes were evacuated and officials used reverse-911 calls to caution 11,000 homes to be prepared to leave if residents were threatened by the shifting fire.

“The fact that no one was killed or seriously injured and that we lost just two homes in a wind-driven fire like this was miraculous,” Pelle added.

One police officer and two firefighters had minor injuries during early fire fighting.

Authorities reopened evacuation areas east of Highway 36, including Lake Valley Estates and the North Rim neighborhood. But residents can’t return yet to areas west of Highway 36, including the Olde Stage Road, Lefthand Canyon and Lee Hill neighborhoods.

About 75 firefighters remain on the fire line, compared to 200 during the height of the blaze Wednesday.

With the help of daylight, investigators hope to confirm this morning suspicions that a wind-downed power lines sparked the grass fire.

Firefighters “lit backfires all night,” Pelle said, describing the main strategy for combating the fire in the darkness.

--Bill Scanlon

8:20 a.m.

The Dakota Ridge subdivision has reopened to residents, authorities said. Lee Hill Road remains closed.

Authorities have corrected the official name of the fire to the Olde Stage Fire.

8:15 a.m.

Authorities are reopening U.S. 36. Evacuations east of U.S. 36 have been lifted, according to a press release from Boulder County.

Evacuations west of U.S. 36 are still in effect, at least until noon. Some residents in that area have been escorted back to their homes to retrieve pets.

Areas still closed: Dakota Ridge, Crestview Estates, and Olde Stage West.

Crews remain confident of full containment of the fire sometime today.

8 a.m.

Unseasonably warm weather and gusting winds will challenge firefighters battling to contain the Old Stage Road Fire by this afternoon.

The good news for firefighting: Friday should bring cooler temperatures, higher humidity, weaker winds and a chance of snow and rain, said Jim Kalina of the National Weather Service in Boulder.

Today, however, it’ll be sunny with a 63-degree high and west winds between 18 and 24 mph gusting up to 40 mph, he said.

But the air will turn moist tonight as a cold front creates a 10 percent chance of rain or snow into Friday. The daytime high will plunge 20 degrees into the low 40s and the winds will ease to between 15 and 23 mph with gusts up to 28 mph.

“It’s going to be cooler with higher humidity Friday, so that will help,” Kalina said.

Yet, the weather along the Front Range will continue to be relatively dry. Beyond Friday, there’s no hint of rain or snow in the seven-day forecast, he added.

--Alan Gathright

7 a.m.

About 1,400 acres have burned, Boulder County officials said today. The charred land is within a 3,600-acre perimeter.

Containment remains at 30 percent, with hopes of full containment by this afternoon.

Up to 75 additional firefighters and 20 pieces of equipment are arriving at the scene today. Officials said their emphasis today will be structure protection and suppressing hot spots.

Power companies, meanwhile, are assessing fire damage to poles and lines.

Authorities said some residents in areas east of the fire may be allowed to return to their homes by midmorning today.

In addition to the three homes destroyed and three outbuildings lost, one home has been partially damaged.

6 a.m.

Boulder County officials say the Neva Fire is "mosaic" shaped. Its perimeter is slightly more than 3,600 acres, they said, of which about 40% has been charred. The fire remains about 30% contained, but if calmer winds prevail today, firefighters hope to gain ground on that blaze.

One police officer and two firefighters have been treated for minor injuries, authorities said. Three homes and three outbuildings have been lost.

5:30 a.m.

Boulder County officials said the two wildfires are now considered one fire, which they are naming the Neva Fire.

Shelters at Centennial Middle School and Niwot High School will remain open today, the officials said.

Road closure updates: U.S. 36 is closed from Broadway to Hygiene. Olde Stage Road is closed from Left Hand to Lee Hill. Lee Hill Road is not accessible from Broadway.

5:25 a.m.

Crews today reported 30 percent containment of the wind-driven wildfire that has now consumed three homes and three outbuildings near Olde Stage Road north of Boulder.

Forecasts call for highs near 60 degrees today, with winds out of the west at 10 mph and gusts to 25 mph.

Boulder County officials said crews used backburning tactics overnight in attempts to knock down the fire.

Overnight, the officials said, winds shifted direction and flames approached Crestview Estates near Lefthand Canyon Drive and U.S. 36.

The perimeter of the fire is estimated at 3,664 acres.

The Associated Press and The Camera contributed to this report.

• January 8, 2009

  8:27 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  666 writes:

  This whole thing is terrible, and of course made worse by warm, dry weather and high winds. I hope now that all those folks that were blubbering about how great this warm weather is are keeping quiet now...

• January 8, 2009

  10:06 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  hikingartist writes:

  Doubtful 666; once a blubberer always a blubberer.

• January 8, 2009

  10:54 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  bph writes:

  So if your large home burned down during this fire, are you going to be subject to the house size limits set by Boulder County?

• January 8, 2009

  11:31 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  nmbronco1 writes:

  Where are the people who are always saying there is no such thing as global warming? Or human caused climate change? 63 degrees in Boulder in early January? I used to live there and one could easily expect the high temperature to be 20 or less in early January.

  For the record - here in northern New Mexico in western Taos County, we have 3 feet of snow on the ground after 3 major snowstorms during the past 3 weeks. The type of storms we have seen recently are quite unusual this early in the season.

  Our prayers go out to the Boulder County residents who lost their homes. The area that burned was really nice before the fire.

• January 8, 2009

  11:37 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  666 writes:

  There are some theories that areas that have seen long-term underground coal fires gradually experience environmental changes due to the resulting greenhouse gas emission and/or contamination and destruction of the soil. Colorado has some coal fires that have been burning underground for a long time (close on 100 years!)...I wonder if there's any connection between this and our current lack of winter?

• January 8, 2009

  11:50 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jonnyrotten writes:

  Here we go... I just knew someone would make the "Global warming" leap to explain this fire. Thanks for not letting me down.

  666: Normal high temperatures for Colorado in January are about 43 or 44 degrees... not 20. How long have you been gone?

• January 8, 2009

  11:52 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jonnyrotten writes:

  Sorry 666, I meant nmbronco1

• January 8, 2009

  11:59 a.m.

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  benn writes:

  Amazing work by the firefighters, it is amazing that more structures weren't lost

• January 8, 2009

  12:06 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  jonnyrotten writes:

  Good point benn. With wind gusts in excess of 100mph and the amount of unburned fuel along the front range foothills, its amazing the local firefighters were able to contain a fire like this at all.

• January 8, 2009

  12:06 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Denver7 writes:

  jonnyrotten - didn't December seem colder than usual? And I wonder how much snow they normally get this time of year in western Taos county. I have to admit the weather this year has been more wierd than usual but I've lived in Denver since 1971 and it's always been wierd here. I went to see Manheim Steamroller in December at the Pepsi Center. One of the performers said welcome to Denver, the only place on earth where it can go from 70 to antarctica in 8 hours.

• January 8, 2009

  12:10 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  666 writes:

  jonnyrotten:

  Did you get that average temp number from the back page of the RMN? Because that's what it says there, as per the National Weather Service...which currently figures their average temperature data only from the past 30 years or so.

  I'm curious...do the Global Warming Deniers actually believe that the planet's average temperature is not increasing over time (because it obviously is), or do they just not believe that humans have any impact on that? I've spoken to some Warming Deniers that are relatively reasonable and not very closed-minded at all regarding climate change. And then there are some that apparently want you to believe that the facts and figures are all part of some big hoax, despite the obvious evidence. That second type is the type that seems to think that if they acknowledge any portion of the obvious truth, their political enemies win...so it's just better to deny everything.

• January 8, 2009

  12:13 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  nmbronco1 writes:

  jonnyrotten - I guess you are one of the guys who will say the next snowstorm is proof that there is no global warming. The correct term is actually human caused climate change, and it IS a fact. It's usually you naysayers - like Sasquatch - that are in denial anyway.

  I lived in Boulder in the late 70's and early 80's. As it happens, I am up in the Denver area often on business, and have been for the last 2 decades. My wife is from Littleton. I don't need you or anyone else to tell me what the climate is along the Front Range as I have plenty of experience in the area. Wildfires in January north of Boulder along US 36 are unheard of until now. Period. A snowstorm is more expected. And the average high in Boulder in January is NOT 44 degrees. Where did you get that "fact"? And - by the way, what is the average expected snowfall for Boulder in January as well as December?
  As someone who has worked as a wildland firefighter, I also congratulate the firefighters for a job well done. Fire season isn't know in the Rockies until April at the earliest in a drought year. This is definitely as strange occurance.

• January 8, 2009

  12:19 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ifyem writes:

  If you check weather.com Nmbronco, you will actually see that the average January high for Boulder is 46 degrees.

• January 8, 2009

  12:51 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  COLibertarian writes:

  No 1 storm is an identifier of GW or the lack of GW nmbronco, so when you state your point you are accurate.

  But NO single Season is an identifier of GW or the lack of GW.

  As stated before I could give a rats arse about man-made vs. non man made GW. We need to push for Alternative Energies, Conservation, Renewals, at every point in the process. Quit arguing and start doing. Handouts and mandates are not coming for awhile. It is on us(as it should be) to work together as communities. Not to be mandated by the Govt to do so. The Govt methods will cost more and have little to no ROI. Business initiatives are showing positive gains and we need to push for more.

  Ahhhhh the Taos valley. Once a beautiful and majestic place. Hopefully the migrants are paying the native residents more and have not priced them completely out of the homelands

• January 8, 2009

  12:54 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ILoveChipotle writes:

  nmbronco1 - do you see how idiotic your arguement is. "I guess you are one of the guys who will say the next snowstorm is proof that there is no global warming" - while you say that 1 warm day in January makes global warming a fact?

• January 8, 2009

  1:19 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  666 writes:

  ILoveChipotle:

  "1 warm day in January"???

  So far there's only been 1 COLD day in January in Boulder. High temp January 4th was 24 degrees, and the rest of the highs so far were not below 41 degrees. It was 64 degrees on Jan 2nd.

  Furthermore...as far as December is concerned, adding the high temperatures in December and dividing by 31, the result is 44 degrees. Most of those temps were in the 40's, 50's and 60's...Dec 2nd was 70 degrees!

  That's a pattern, not a fluke.

• January 8, 2009

  1:33 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  COLibertarian writes:

  666 Yes technically it is a pattern for a season. 1 Day, 1 month, 1 year in a MICRO CLIMATE does not define GW nor does it disprove it. You are trying to have your cake and eat it too........

• January 8, 2009

  1:34 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Herstory writes:

  how ironic, one of the evacuee's...
  Former FEMA director among evacuated
  The former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was among the Boulder County residents evacuated from their homes during Wednesday's Olde Stage Road Fire.

  Michael Brown told KOA radio (850 AM) Thursday morning that he lives up Lefthand Canyon and returned home Wednesday afternoon to find a Boulder County sheriff's squad car in his driveway with its lights flashing. Through whipping winds, an officer told him there was a mandatory evacuation for his neighborhood, Brown said.

  "I grew up in tornado alley, but it was strange being told to evacuate," Brown told KOA. "I firmly believe in the evacuation process. So when they told me, I loaded up the dogs, grabbed my briefcase and headed down the mountain."
  by Vanessa Miller

• January 8, 2009

  1:50 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  me2 writes:

  Amazing the height of the flames, usually those are the result of forest fires. I'm looking at the grass and unmowed weeds around my house with more respect.

• January 8, 2009

  2:15 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  COLibertarian writes:

  Me2 Happy New Year!

  Yes weeds and grass can do great damage and they can move so fast.......... Yell at the posters here including me and if you are worried, would be willing to help get that taken care of.

  Fires are nothing I want for myself or anyone else to have to go through. I was in the middle of Hayman fire and at the edge of Schoonover fire all in the same yr.

  Hope everyone is safe and this fire gets contained and put out quickly!

• January 8, 2009

  2:18 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  JustSayin writes:

  "visible through a notch in the front row of peaks" Man, city-slicker reporters are something else. Must be the same reporter who writes when someone is lost 1/4 mile from roads that "they spent the night in the wilderness"....

  No "peaks" involved, just the wavering ridgeline of the first of the foothills.

  From what I'm seeing in the pictures, it appears that un-grazed open space burned pretty completely, while areas with over-grazed pastures burned mainly in the draws. Will have to get down that way and take a look.

• January 8, 2009

  2:27 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  sweetater writes:

  Don't ya just LOVE firefighters!! Bless you guys and gals and I am sure Boulder thanks you too!!
  Everyone take your local fire department cookies

• January 8, 2009

  3:07 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ifyem writes:

  Old Brownie was one of the evacuees..Now we finally know where he's been hiding ever since he botched the response to Katrina...

• January 8, 2009

  4:09 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  HankReardon writes:

  ifyem writes:

  If you check weather.com Nmbronco, you will actually see that the average January high for Boulder is 46 degrees

  Help me out ifyem, the term 'average January high' doesn't make sense to me. There's low, high and average temperature, right? What's the 'average' temperature for Boulder in January?

• January 8, 2009

  4:15 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ifyem writes:

  Have no idea what the average temp is for Boulder in January..I would assume that when you factor in the low temperature with the high temperature, the average temperature for Boulder would be much lower than 46 degrees. Weather.com merely provides a chart stating what the average daily high temperature is for each month.

• January 8, 2009

  5:05 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  birddog writes:

  Global Warming caused this??

  What about the power line that fell on the ground and started the fire?

  Why can't we blame George Bush? Why can't we blame the Israeli's in Gaza? The Bronco's Defense? Bigfoot? The skier in Vail that had his bum exposed?

• January 8, 2009

  5:50 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  birddog writes:

  Here's a good link for the Global Warming freaks....

  http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2...

• January 8, 2009

  6:39 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Timberline writes:

  You freaks who claim a 65 degree day in Colorado is caused by "global Warming" must not be from here, this is normal!! Go to N. Dakoda or Michigan where the temp never fluctuates and see if the average temp has risen, you weirdos need to get a life, or move away from Boulder.

• January 8, 2009

  6:47 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Timberline writes:

  birddog,
  Facts don't matter to Conspiracy Theorists!

• January 8, 2009

  7:39 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  commonsense1 writes:

  Oh MY! Global Warming... are you kidding? How long did you live in Colorado nmbronco? As an independent thinking native Coloradoan, who’s somewhat of an amateur history buff, a person with the ability to use google to research some easy to find statistics and has a little bit of education and an IQ that is at least in the triple digits... I can tell you for certain that January high temperatures in the 60's or even the 70's have occurred in December and January for as long as records have been kept!

  Did you know that in Colorado it sometimes snows in June and occasionally in July? Do you know that the Boulder area has ALWAYS experienced high damaging winds caused by temperature inversions in winter? Did you know that grass and forest fires have been a part of the ecosystem of mountain and plains states for all of recorded history? Did you know that we have cold winters, warm winters, wet winters and dry winters in Colorado? Ever heard of a micro climate?

  Where was Al Gore when the glaciers were receding? Which government agency or mindless mainstream media talking head was sounding the alarm then? Wake up! The planet was warm (dinosaurs, tropical plants in the arctic regions) then the planet cooled (ice age, wooly mammoths) then the planet started warming again (ever heard of the great lakes?) and there wasn’t a single SUV or coal fired power plant in existence. As a matter of fact there were a few billion less people on the earth to mess things up, and it still started warming up… and it still is. If man is causing or accelerating global warming, it is the collective hot air from the entire global warming alarmist’s, the US is bad we have to cut our emissions group.

  Plant a tree or two; do your individual part to be a better steward of the part of the world you have dominion over, quit buying Chinese manufactured products and for gosh sakes… use your head for something more than a CNN, MSNBC receptacle!

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