The Waldo Canyon wildfire in the Colorado Springs area has been in the news nationwide, and we’ve got a front-row seat. Five days ago when we first heard the news that a large swath of Waldo Canyon was on fire, I was dismayed—this is a beautiful wilderness area near the base of Pikes Peak where I have hiked many times. Very quickly, however, the fire turned into an inferno and spread, causing evacuations of several mountain towns. Thanks to drought conditions, and several days of temps over 90°F, the fire grew and grew.

This is smoke, not thunderclouds

The main fire is about 15–20 miles from our house.  The air is filled with smoke. Over 300 homes have been destroyed. Yesterday we learned that the town of Monument, only a couple of miles from here, is on pre-evacuation notice, and the smoke was the worst so far. The winds picked up. Jonathan and Jessica, and our two-year-old grandson, came up to stay with us from Colorado Springs to get out of the smoke.

smoke from fires around base of Pikes Peak

Not a good view to have out your back door

Fortunately, the weather changed, temperature dropped in the afternoon, as well as a brief rain shower. Today, the firefighters made good progress, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for good news tomorrow.

I took all of the photos from our house.

But at least the smoke makes the sunsets beautiful