Burning

You probably already know about the fire here in Colorado Springs. 

We are fine. 

And things are better now. 

It happened so fast. I took this picture:

And then 10 minutes later I took this picture:

Eventually it looked like these photos from The Gazzette:

32,000 people have been evacuated and very few of them 

know if their homes burned or not. 

It was a terrible and exciting night. 

No one slept well.

We walked down the street to watch and found a group of

people sitting in lawn chairs quietly 

getting drunk 

as they watched their homes and neighborhood burn. 

I could not pull myself away from the news. 

Each reporter and newscaster fell into tears as they reported the destruction. 

We all watched as they cried live on the air and tried to 

comfort each other. 

There was fear yesterday. 

Fear that the fire would attack again. 

Everyone you talk to has a friend or family member who lost a home. 

Yesterday I ran errands and the fire was all anyone was talking about,

on their cell phones, at the teller station, at the gas pump, in the checkout line, 

in the dressing rooms. 

Where they were, how far it is from their home, what will happen next. 

What will happen next. 

That is the big question. Evacuees are being told to wait, they can't say how long to wait, 

to hear what has happened to their homes. 

Yesterday Ike told me that he and the boys from the Springs were fasting at 

BYU Basketball camp. 

Fasting for the fire. 

Twenty minutes after that call the rain started. It didn't rain buckets,

but it helped. 

It rained lightly off and on all day.

Today looks smokey but good. 

There are spot fires all over the mountain sides.

We worry that the wind will pick up and it will start all over again.

And we worry for Woodland Park and hope they don't have the

same experience we did.

Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes.