Update July 5, 2018

CLARIFICATION AND NEWS!

Yes Autumn Rock (our 40 acre parcel) burned - it's devastated.

Yes, Yellowstone Creek Ranch (2500 acres that is home to several of us - an HOA - is burned - devastated.

All these days I have said in the posts, we had a 5% chance that the house might have survived.

I got the word this afternoon - the HOUSE SURVIVED! In the middle of armageddon the house survived!

AT RIGHT _ BEFORE AND AFTER

Update July 3, 2018

AUTUMN ROCK BURNS!

Justin and I were together atop a high ridge about 4 miles away as our dream went up in flames. It only took the raging beast about 20 minutes to consume our 40 acres and it rolled down the ranch consuming all 2500 acres in maybe 3 hours. We are fine. Here is a link to my Facebook post. 

Update July 2, 2018 - 

FIRE UPDATE: I received this photo on Sunday evening - about 8 hours ago. It was taking by friends who have parcels on the ranch. They were there watching/waiting. Due to the severity of the situation - after this was taken - they left.

Our house at Autumn Rock can be seen in the bottom of the photo. My best guess is that when this was taken it was about 100 yards away.

The second photo shows the house and how it sits in proximity to the trees/fuel. Of course all those are out of frame on the image with fire. The additional overview was taken by Justin about 12 hours before the image with the fire. But I add it here to give you perspective.Within minutes for sure the house was either surrounded or engulfed and there may be no way to know for a while.

Posted Sunday morning, July 1, 2018

On Wednesday, June 27th a small plume of smoke was seen rising over the mountain ridge west of La Veta, Colorado. The guess by those seeing it from La Veta would have been a fire in Forbes Park. Indeed it was - but it was such a small cloud.

The fire grew quickly to over 2000 acres and over the next 24 hours turning into a monster that devoured everything in its path over the ridge. But then it crested the ridge and began a descent down the slopes toward our small town - population only 800. 

The entire town was in danger of being engulfed, but firefighters managed to create enough fire break to make that attack manageable. The growth to the north and south and west continues to be fast and erratic. 

As a result, the new mountain house (Autumn Rock) that Justin and I just built and finished in March this year - on a parcel we purchased in 2002 - is now facing the inevitable. 

In three days it has grown to 41,000 acres and is considered zero percent contained. 

The full account can be read here. EDITED TO ADD: But the updated results are up at the top of this article

Justin took this photo from the deck of our house in La Veta just 28 hours after the initial smoke plume.