The Cosgrove Fire

The Cosgrove Fire started last Sunday from a lightning strike and
has now grown to 1400 acres. Located in the Little Book Cliffs, it's
not far from the Grand Valley as the crow flies. However, since it's
in such a remote area and hard to get to, it's a three hour drive in
off-road vehicles to get to the fire to fight it. This area is also near
the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Area, where a large herd of wild horses
resides. We've been told they're not in danger, but since the fire is
burning vegetation that is not native to the area, it's being allowed to
burn. The huge clouds of smoke and smell of smoke are certainly
disturbing though.

Las Conchas Fire

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

We've been keeping an eye on the Las Conchas Fire, in Northern
New Mexico. Just over ten years ago we worked at Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site near Golden, Colorado. The
company we worked for had jobs at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory doing similar work to what we were doing at Rocky
Flats. We love the area and had been nearby many times. We
hadn't been to Los Alamos before though so we checked it out.
Earlier that year, Los Alamos had suffered from the devastating
Cerro Grande fire which burned 48,000 acres, including 400
homes. We witnessed the horrible aftermath as we drove around
the area. We decided not to pursue the jobs at LANL, which
would have deemed a move to the small town of Los Alamos
a necessity. We eventually left Rocky Flats and began to work
in Antarctica. However, if we had pursued those jobs, we might
be living in Los Alamos today. As of this evening, the fire is
90,000 acres and the entire town has been evacuated. It's a
very sad time for the local residents as the fire is still only 3%
contained. Please keep the residents of the area in your thoughts
and prayers.

Fire in Arizona

There is a huge fire happening right now in eastern Arizona. Thousands
of acres of forest are going up in flames. Strong southwesterly winds are
blowing a lot of the smoke toward places many miles away. This evening,
the wind came up and the sunset and sky took on a surreal look. Even
though Santa Fe is several hundred miles away from the fires, the sun
became very dark and the sky filled with smoke, sometimes burning the
eyes and making it hard to breathe. After sunset, the moon became very
red. It was just a really weird weather and climate scenario.

World Cup

I guess I'm not much of a soccer (I mean football) fan. I grew
up in an era when kids got together to play baseball and
basketball. Games in which you used your hands instead of
your feet. My nephews and niece of course grew up with the
game and it's totally natural for them to think of the sport on
an even keel with other sports. However, I definitely have a
small portion of my inner self that enjoys the complexity of
the game and the way it can stir the emotions of it's fans.
When I was in the hotel business, back in 1994, lots of
fans of the German national team stayed at our hotel while
first round games were played in Chicago. The fans were
really excited...both before and after a match. I occasionally
look at the scores of the Chicago Fire and was a fan of
the Chicago Sting in the early 80's when they won the first
championship of any kind Chicago had seen since the 1963
Chicago Bears. Even a few months ago I gawked at the
stadium of Real Salt Lake before Lynn chided me and we
almost drove off the road. So now, the US national team has
made it to the final 16 of Soccer's biggest show. I feel like I'm
following "The Beautiful Game" only lately, but I guess in some
ways, I've been following it all along. I hope our team does
well!

Oops!

Earlier today, Van 201 had a small problem with
an electrical fire. It was being operated by the
military folks at Pegasus Airfield. Scary thing
was, it happened right next to the fuel pits! I
don't think this van will be seeing any driving
time for quite a while...if ever again.

el Queso Grandes

As a part of the Fire Department's effort to have 100%
of the station trained in Fire Extinguisher use, it was
my turn today as I was lumped into the group that was
called "el Queso Grandes" (The Big Cheeses). This was
because the NSF Station Manager, RPSC Station Manager,
FEMC Manager, Ops Manager, QA Inspector and lil ol' me
were the victims...I mean participants. After having an
hour and a half of classroom theory and training, we
donned the gear (I got to feel like a real fireman) and
we went outside to hit the pan full of ignited MOGAS.
I'd done this before, both here and on a blazing parking
lot in Phoenix (it was hot...not on fire) so I felt
pretty comfortable. I was 5th in line and after Larry,
the QA Inspector failed to put his fire out, I was still
confident that I would do well. I knew the PASS (Pull,
Aim, Squeeze and Sweep). But...I guess I shouldn't quit
my day job as I failed to put out my fire as well. I
got a second chance and put it out, but by that time my
bubble was burst. The Chief, Will, said that sometimes
if the fire is hot like it was (as opposed to a cold fire?)
it's hard for the later people to put their fires out as
easily. I think he was just trying to make Larry and I
feel better but who cares. I got to wear the cool suit,
snazzy helmet and play with fire. Now I can go back to
my parent's house in the States and burn leaves...as a
"professional" firefighter!

Lynn the Firefighter

As part of their community interaction this winter, the
Fire Department is trying to train 100% of the station
on how to use fire extinguishers. Lynn's Supply group
got their opportunity recently.


Lynn slugged it out with the best of them and even got
to help put her boss's fire out when he was having trouble
doing so on his own. However, I don't see her continuing
in this line of work since she has enough fires to put out
in her normal job on a daily basis.

Where's the Fire?

I've gotten to do a lot of firsts in my time coming down
here. Today, I got to add another. Riding in a Fire Truck.
I was coming out of B-175 today and the Fire Department had
just finished their inspection of the building. They waved
me over to the truck and asked if I wanted a ride. Of course!
I only went about 1/4 mile, but it was still a lot of fun,
listening to the conversations over the headphones and enjoying
the ride. I hope I can do it again sometime.