To put this fire in perspective, it's 1/10 the size of Hayman.

and 3.7 times High Meadow.

Actually, this fire is pretty close to Fort Collins proper; my understanding is the perimeter is within about 1.5 miles of Horsetooth Reservoir. If the fire made a strong push towards the southeast, it could be a real problem for FoCo.

This fire was at the complexity level for a Type 1 team on Saturday, and the team was ordered then...so really, it was a "Type 1 fire" at that point. But the management team has to travel to the fire area and then get oriented to the situation before they will take over command of the fire. That happened this morning. The T1 teams have a lot of "pull" nationally to get the resources they need, which for this fire will mean lots and lots of hand crews to dig fire line.

Also please understand: Air resources NEVER put out or contain a fire...only crews on the ground can do that. Retardant dropped by aircraft is critical in protecting the ground crews while putting in lines, and it is an extremely helpful tool in structure protection, but it will not be enough to "put it out." The media loves to focus on the aerial resources but it's those "boots on the ground" that ultimately determine the success of the firefighting effort.

Officials are now stating over 100 homes have burned / damaged in Rist Canyon alone.

Don't get my meaning convaluted. I said air was the urgency. I never in your words said air put it OUT. Media has their own game. Boots on the ground will create a perimeter. In this case, it will be a HUGE perimeter once the beetle kill up north west catches.

And, never say never, but behavior has yet to travel east; thus a line has been easier to create between the fire and the Horsetooths and the FoCo's.

Here's an updated map of the fire perimeter as of about midnight:

http://blackicegeospatial.com/images/Wi ... 120611.jpg

Beware, it's a huge file. But it shows the progresion of the fire. Initial movement on Saturday was towards the northeast, as is typical with pre-frontal winds along the front range. Sunday's movement was primarily towards the east (with some southeast runs I would guess), in the general direction of Laporte and Horsetooth.

Well then I stand corrected.

Current "official" acreage of the High Park Fire: 36,930 (with no contaiment and high growth potential);

Final Hayman acreage: 138, 114 (with 133 homes lost, at the time the highest number in state history);

So at the moment it is just over 1/4 the size of Hayman, and still growing. I believe this already makes it the largest fire in the state since that 2002 season (which also had the Missionary Ridge Fire at 70,485 acres and 58 homes lost).

To put into perspective, the worst fire in Colorado history in terms of homes lost and total property damage was the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire (169 homes, $217 million) but only 6422 acres. Will this current fire surpass that number? Approximately 1,000 residences are currently considered threatened.

And then there is the perspective of worst fire in terms of human loss (1994 South Canyon Fire with 14 deaths but only 2115 acres)...or, unfortunately, worst in terms of non-firefighter deaths, Lower North Fork Fire (3 deaths and 4140 acres).

One person confirmed dead: http://kdvr.com/2012/06/09/new-wildfire ... er-county/

here's one way to help, especially if you are a horse lover:

http://www.pinecam.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=152636

this was taken from the front stoop of my apartment


and this was taken from mason and harmony, and is a little further from it

plus my girlfriend who lives within city limits but is on the outskirts near the southern part of the fire is under evacuation warning

Good photos CK!