Has anyone heard from Pillgrim?

Rob · January 07, 2022, 06:59:03 AM

Or anyone else in Colorado?
With the fires they have had just hoping everyone is safe.

Dave W · January 07, 2022, 07:08:49 AM

He posted on Wednesday and was logged in here yesterday.

Pilgrim · January 07, 2022, 11:35:04 AM

Thank you for thinking of us! We're fine - JoAnn and I live about 40 miles north and east from the fire, and our daughters are in Denver about the same distance south and east.

Strangest fire ever - it happened on grassland with 100 MPH winds blowing, was reported at 11:00 AM, and within 12 hours about 1000 homes and buildings were gone. I've never seen anything like it.

That night the winds subsided, and the next day there was 8 inches of snow - one day too late. There are two confirmed deaths, and one missing, which is an astoundingly low casualty rate for a fire moving the length of a football field faster than any human being can run.

Here's a photo showing one house left in a development. Much of the area looks exactly like this...

Here's a brief article with multiple photos, and links to more info about the fire:

https://www.denverpost.com/2022/01/02/marshall-fire-aerial-photos/

gearHed289 · January 07, 2022, 11:49:16 AM

Glad you're OK! A good vocalist friend of mine who I've done a lot of gigs with just recently relocated to CO with his wife and kid. They had to evacuate and it wasn't looking good. They've been renting, but still, all their stuff is there. They got lucky and the house is intact. They are without power or water, but they're roughing it with the fireplace for now. Fortunately, he's a big outdoors/Jeep kinda guy, so he's well prepared.

Rob · January 07, 2022, 12:34:42 PM

Great news!

morrow · January 07, 2022, 01:26:34 PM

Thankful to hear you're ok .
The reports were horrific .

4stringer77 · January 07, 2022, 02:28:37 PM

Glad to hear you're doing well Pilgrim. Hope everyone around Kentucky here is good too.

uwe · January 07, 2022, 06:48:34 PM

Such a large fire in winter? Weird.

And why/how did that one house survive?

Pilgrim · January 08, 2022, 10:30:32 AM

Quote from: uwe on January 07, 2022, 06:48:34 PM
Such a large fire in winter? Weird.

And why/how did that one house survive?

The fire apparently started in or near a shed owned by a cult religions group near Superior, and the timing was the worst it could be, because that morning there were hurricane-force winds. The speed with which that fire spread is nearly unbelievable.

Unfortunately there were parts of two small towns directly in the fire path - Superior and Louisville.

Weird things happen in fires, and there are little "flagpole" houses that were either saved by firefighters or whims of the wind currents. There was a hospital nearly taken (and VERY quickly evacuated), and flames got within feet of its liquid oxygen tanks. Fortunately they were stopped before the tanks could explode.

uwe · January 10, 2022, 08:31:36 AM

"The fire apparently started in or near a shed owned by a cult religions group near Superior ..."

That sounds like the beginning of a script of a supernatural movie.

Pilgrim · January 10, 2022, 09:55:02 AM

Quote from: uwe on January 10, 2022, 08:31:36 AM
"The fire apparently started in or near a shed owned by a cult religions group near Superior ..."

That sounds like the beginning of a script of a supernatural movie.

I haven't heard much about the group except that it's one of the rather insular ones which doesn't share a lot outside the group. So far I haven't heard anything other than it probably started on their property. I'd rather not make assumptions, but the temptation is there.