July 11, 2012

White Dog and The White Dog Army

Wonderful World Wednesday

White Dog and The White Dog Army have heard the most wonderful news this evening. After 17 hellish days of destroying remorselessly everything in its path, the Colorado Waldo Canyon Fire has been contained! So much has been lost (at least for our lifetimes) and the dangers are not over not that the flames are quashed for now comes fear of flooding as rains hit the denuded land and water tables becoming polluted with toxic ash. So many homes have been obliterated, both for humans and for the wildlife that make the state such a paradise.

It would be so easy to focus on the devastation but the WDA wants you to also remember the incredibly heroic and heart-touching parts as well. Those who fought the fires at the front lines, refusing to give up or even rest cannot be overlooked for the World that they personally hand a hand in saving. We will forever remember the image of a firefighter holding a fawn and administering oxygen with a mask. The animal rescues and volunteers who came from all over the country to set up safety zones for creatures, both wild and displaced domestics, who were scared and without anywhere to go are champions extraordinaire. Images of rows of clean safe kennels donated and at the ready next to stuffies and bowls for food made us tear up during the height of the destruction. The communities who joined neighbor next to neighbor to help each other through the smoke and desperation and fear reminded us of the true meaning of community.

Most wonderful of all, at least to us in the White Dog Army, was that the World joined together to send prayers, and positive thoughts, and tears and hope to those (often half a world away in an unknown part of the USA) in need of support and love.  It is that desire to help, even if just to focus energy on bringing rain or a favorable stilling of the winds, that gives the WDA pause to think that maybe, just maybe the image of the phoenix is appropriate (despite its association with another state).

Certainly in this case, through adversity and disaster, we have all become more connected and richer in spirit. Now, let the healing of the earth begin!

Waldo Canyon Fire 100% Contained

Fire crews call containment 17 days after blaze began.

Jemal Duran  POSTED: 08:00 PM MDT Jul 10, 2012 KRDO.com

The Waldo Canyon Fire, the most destructive in Colorado history, is under full containment Tuesday night.

The announcement comes after a helicopter flyover on Tuesday evening.

Fire commander Troy Nelsen was unable to see any smoke in the Blodgett Peak area. There has not been smoke in that area for 36 hours, giving crews the confidence to make the announcement.

Residents are reminded that smoke will continue to appear over the next few weeks. When you see that, remember that it is all burning on the inside of the fire line and there is no cause for alarm.

The fire destroyed 346 homes during its peak on June 26th, killing one senior couple in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood.

During that period, some 32,000 Springs residents were forced to evacuate their homes.

On June 29, President Obama toured the burn zone, and thanked Firefighters and Red Cross volunteers for their hard work.

GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney followed suit on Tuesday, paying his own visit to Colorado Springs, and urging out-of-state visitors to keep Colorado in their vacation plans.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.