:: thu may 11 00 ::
10:20 PM update: last post tonight. some of my earlier information has changed, some was incorrect.
260 homes destroyed, 20 homes damaged. 20,000-25,000 acres consumed. the town of white rock is still standing ... and if the wind continues to die down and shift as the weather front moves over, it may luck out and be completely missed.
earlier:
darkness has fallen, and the demons are at play once again. my vidcam isn't the best at low light, but here's what i've got. remember, we're 40 some miles by road, 25 miles by crow from this fire.
this is los alamos burning ... where you see the smoke starting in the daylight shot earlier today:
"losalamosburning"
this is a flare that shot up, scared us to death because it looked so close. it must be hundreds of feet high. the bottom edge is being shielded by thick clouds, *not* mountains ... and is about a fist-width east of the previous shot. approximate same zoom ratio as the daylight shot ... so you can tell this is big! all the clouds glow red, in spite of this photo ...
"nightdistant"
this is a closeup. [sandra says she wants to go back to new jersey ...]
"nightclose"
there is also a dark red glow about three fist-widths to the right, right where white rock ... er ... was.
the evening news gave us a dark sky shot of the side of the mountain where the fire has already travelled. it looks like the sparkling night sky ... thousands of hot spots. embers to be carried by the winds to begin the terror again.
8:30 PM update: artist lament. they've called for the evacuation of abiquiu. the red rocks of georgia o'keeffe's paintings ... that's abiquiu. please, don't let it torch ghost ranch ...
good news from the santa fe animal shelter; apparently they've found temporary homes for all the pets brought in so far. horses are being put up for free at the rodeo park.
from the end of the driveway, slight wide angle. the cloud extends about five or six times this distance to the right of this frame:
"closeup"
5:oo PM update: 180 homes gone. 8700 plus acres burned. fires are separated, one near white rock, one in west espanola, two around los alamos. supposedly the fire came within 30 yards of a nuclear materials housing bunker. they've pulled firefighters away again because of the high winds, and the swift changes of direction.
ruidoso in southern nm has similar devastation with their fire, 8000 acres, 80 mph wind gusts.
another fire has started outside of las vegas, new mexico, apparently because of a plane crash.
the bombers can't fly, but the helicopters are hitting the dozens of spot fires ... trying to keep them from spreading. if you watch the video, these guys are heros. look at how bad the helicopters are bouncing in the high winds and turbulence.
apparently there's hope of diminishing winds late tomorrow. a resident about thirty miles downwind of the los alamos fire reported tarpaper and wood coming down out of the sky in addition to ash last night.
4:00 PM update: the city of white rock has just received an 'evacuate NOW' order. this fire is still spreading under 50 mph gusts. a normal fire will spread 1/3 of a mile in an hour ... this one's doing the marathon. the wind is shifting in different directions, so the exact nature of it's spread is relatively unclear. los alamos lab has multiple satellite areas, so you'll hear quotes about 'the lab is burning' ... it could be a small building, or it could be a big one. because of national security issues, they're not allowed to say or show pictures.
i have to go wrap up some business; i'll drag the vidcam this time and post a pic or two.
an embarrassing note: the state of new mexico reminds us that burning is prohibited after this friday. [people get permits to burn garbage here.] a bit late, what?
3:00 PM update: i'm gathering information after being away at meetings. the clouds of smoke aren't as thick today as yesterday, but it looks low, mean and dangerous. looks like our own kevin drennan (the other half of the 'skull and cactus society' here in santa fe) is busy. the santa fe institute is setting up a server or two to help coordinate information across bureaus and agencies, to eliminate the usual bottlenecks. GO KEVIN!! they're looking for 10-15 local sysop volunteers.
the new mexico internet provider's association has started up a page for resources, people finders, and shelter information.
8:00 AM update: the police sing "when the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around" ... the food bank is requesting stuff. they had a fabulous idea! what about all that leftover y2k stuff everyone was stockpiling! into the van i go ...
sunrise update: thanks to craig of booknotes, for giving me voice. i've asked dave to turn this site back on, because there's too much happening too fast.
100 homes are gone. 30,000 people displaced. they made a poor choice last night; unfortunately, in conversations i had predicted this. they had 7,000 people in white rock last night, a small town just outside of los alamos ... surrounded by forest, connected to the fire areas ... and terrible access. they were forced to evacuate last night. so for 7,000 people, they've had a double horror.
wind speeds are picking up. they're having gusts to 50 mph again.
you can find somewhat current information at:
www.sfnewmexican.com
www.albuquerquejournal.com
albuquerque's a bit more 'up to the minute' ...
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
the red cross needs money, not clothes, not castoffs. 'stuff' is a logistical nightmare; they need raw financial material to work with. thanks in advance to all who help.
send donations to:
red cross mid rio grande chapter
142 monroe n.e.
albuquerque, nm 87108
PHONE NUMBER: (505) 265-8514. supposedly they take charge cards.
i will be adding more organizations as the day goes by. but the red cross is seriously over budget already.