“I stayed in the front seat of my car with all of my fowl in there, with the roosters crowing in the morning,” she told the paper. Joanne Gaishin slept outside in her car after fleeing her home with 18 chickens and three turkeys. And for good measure, one yak.Īt least eight families also have taken refuge at the Elbert County Fairgrounds in Kiowa, the Denver Post reported, which is about 35 miles southeast of Denver. Assorted dogs, cats, goats and donkeys mingled with mules and llamas.
There were nearly 30 chickens, several hundred horses, a handful of cows and a couple calves, and many alpacas and miniature horses, according to the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office. One shot shows just how wide the smoke was on the horizon.Ī county fairground northeast of the Black Forest Fire looked like a Noah’s Ark with families who fled with their animals to escape the looming inferno. In northeast Colorado Springs, CNN iReporter Heather Croze took photos outside her home, capturing a billowing plume of smoke. A lot of people here just don’t know,” Jaenette Coyne said. You have that moment where you say: ‘Is that really my house?’ But we know it was. “It was probably the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The Coynes actually saw their home burn on live TV. She also took a firebox, which contained most of the couple’s important documents. She said she grabbed a baby album and a personal computer with pictures on it. “We literally had five minutes, and we left because it was, the flames were there,” Jaenette Coyne told CNN’s AC360 Thursday night. “If it’s a draw, that’s a victory today because we haven’t had too many draws in the last couple of days,” he said.Īmong those who lost their home were husband and wife, Jaenette and Kristian Coyne. Maketa struggled to find a phrase to describe how ferocious the fire is, settling on “very dynamic.” Combined with dry brush and high temperatures, the winds have fanned devastating flames. That marked a dramatic increase from the 8,500 acres officials said had been burned by Wednesday night, he noted.Īfter he spoke, residents of about 1,000 homes in Colorado Springs were told to evacuate.
The fire’s evacuation area was 93,000 acres, affecting approximately 38,000 people and 13,000 homes, and the flames were estimated to have burned through 15,700 acres, said Maketa. “The fire is very, very active within the containment area, and we don’t have a high level of confidence at all that we’ll be able to hold all of these lines around this fire,” Rose said. With the help of helicopters and air tankers, they established a loose perimeter. Some 750 firefighters were battling the blaze, which was 5% contained late Thursday. Read: Study warns of continued wildfires in western U.S. They were packing their personal belongings, trying to get out,” he said.Įarlier, county spokesman Dave Rose told CNN that the Black Forest Fire, burning northeast of the city, now appears to be the most destructive in terms of property lost in state history. “They said that they could see a glow to the west. Witnesses spoke to the two victims in the afternoon, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa told reporters. “It could have been a lot worse,” Lowderman said.Firefighters made little headway Thursday against a raging wildfire near Colorado Springs, Colorado, which has scorched close to 16,000 acres, destroyed 360 homes and claimed at least two lives. The assessor’s office came up with its totals after on-site inspections of 2,400 parcels.
“We will probably have to review Black Forest in a year or two because we have no guarantee that those trees that were damaged are going to make it,” he said. A treeless lot sells for about 30 percent less than one with pristine trees, and buyers will pay about 15 percent less for a lot with damaged trees, Lowderman said. Sixteen members of his office, who have been working full-time on the fire, must now put dollar amounts to lost outbuildings, commercial structures and, perhaps most costly, trees. The fire - which killed two people and charred more than 14,000 acres, also caused $85,444,052 in damage to homes, Lowderman said in announcing the completion of the first of four parts of the Black Forest assessment. The blaze that started June 11 destroyed 486 homes - fewer than the sheriff’s department’s initial estimate of 511 - and damaged 37, county assessor Mark Lowderman said Tuesday. Last month’s Black Forest fire caused more than $85 million in damage, a number that is sure to rise as El Paso County assessors tally the devastation to outbuildings, commercial structures and trees. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
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