Fourmile Fire (more photos)

Better pics today as we learn the new camera. We decided to go up one more time and spend a few more hours looking around. Tomorrow (or Friday) we will head up to Breckenridge and relax a few weeks

Here is the drive up from Boulder on Sunshine Canyon Drive. I count 44 houses on this road destroyed between miles 4 & 8. First, what Sunshine Canyon should look like the entire way to Gold Hill:



Homage to the great fire fighters (and Sheriffs)





The red - fire retardant dropped by the slurry bombers. I think this was the fire perimeter that was held. The bombers didn't get up until Day 3 if I remember - Day 1 too smokey, Day 2 a weather issue. The fire perimeter was so close to our house...



Road block - but a good one. I'm not following the news (the news sucks - more in the next and final update) but I think for several reasons all in the "burn zone" (within the red perimeter line) must have passes from the sheriff. One, it's still hot as hell. Two, power lines are down. Three, the communities up there need some space. Love the Sheriffs



Just across from Bald Mountain is a house we are thinking about...it is ok



This structure in front not as lucky (don't remember what it was)



Heading up Sunshine Canyon



How lucky will this person feel - so many houses barely escaped. No idea why



Random pics over the next mile-and-a-half...









Looks more like a haunted New England winter scene



This home (sadly) is on the news quite a bit, which would drive me crazy - see the car dangling? It was a fireproof garage



Just before CR-83 on the southwest side



One last time turning onto CR-83. We will miss it



The 1/4 mile driveway...



Feels like we lost our own home...



Yesterday I said I thought these holes were once trees. I was wrong. I guess now being an old mining area, these may have been old "digs" searching for gold and were merely weaknesses opened up by the fire. Happy to be corrected



The home one last time. That isn't smoke - winds now sweep up ash



Me looking around in the ashes. The Sheriff who came by yesterday to confirm our address suggested in much nicer terms that we were dumbasses for not wearing a mask (kidding - he was awesome and said we should wear one)



Propane tank. I think someone did this yesterday after we left



This was an outhouse...



Stove...



Fridge...



Dryer and washer...



Satellite dish...



Here is what we found in the ashes...generally heavier metals (such as stainless steel water bottles)





This was taken in the hotel room - Maureen's engagement ring. It was an antique. It is fused to the rubble



And...our cameras! Nothing to lose...will anyone be able to recover our pictures (we had large memory cards)



Neighbours (in the mountains neighbours can be far away) - destroyed. The first is Sunshine Canyon, I believe the second is Misty Vale Court





Towers from our house. If you see pics of the fires from town and see smoke behind these...it was probably our neighbourhood...if the fire had made it over this ridge - it would have headed for Boulder. That's why on Day 3 (?) they had parts of Boulder prepared for an evacuation. Winds that night were reported at over 50mph