Contact information for organizations needing donations in the wake of the fires:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/27/us...western-fires/

I remember your recent slide show and still plan to do Crags trail sometime this summer or fall. Is your family in the area?

Yes. I currently live in Australia, but Colorado Springs is my hometown and most of my family is there.

Enjoy Crags (if it survives).

Sending the best to your family. Hopefully they and their homes are safe.

Weather is cooler this evening so that should aid in the firefighting tonight.

Back at you wtm003. Cheers.

We found out yesterday a co-worker lost his home near CO Springs. Second friend we know who has lost a home to wildfire this season.

No rain in sight. It's going to be a rough summer.

Stay safe, everyone!

A fast-moving rain and hailstorm just passed through Boulder; cleared the air, but now there's a new smoke plume north of the Flatirons. Argh. Helicopter just flew over it, so maybe they'll hit it immediately.

A friend sent this link of aerial photos taken by the local newspaper in Denver, which gives some insight into the destruction.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured...ce=rsshomeblog

Topping this for those who might have missed it.

As of today, The Waldo Canyon fire is 45% contained. It's burned 17,659 acres and 346 homes have been lost.

There have been two reported deaths, thousands of evacuations and hundreds of displaced pets, not to mention the wildlife.

Here's a 5 day timelapse video of the Waldo Canyon fire, which began eight days ago. The video is long, but compelling, particularly at the 7 minute and 11.5 minute marks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBA7eHY022k&sns=fb