Colorado Fires

[dgolden]

It seems the fires are starting early this year. One large fire started right across the road from where we got on a legal bull the last day of season last year and are/was planning on starting out at this year. Praying for rain and a lot of it!

 

[gtk]

its terribly dry and no predicted relief in sight. Its "not" as bad on the front range as it is on up in the mountains . West slope is nothing but a tinderbox. While some are lightning started, the bigger percentage is human started. I read on a CO site about rangers often having to put out campfires that people leave after camping. Again, just not much common sense left in the human race.

Last summer they banned us from shooting (one fire was started before by tracer rounds) and I feel that will be coming earlier this year.

 

[Hunter79]

Going to the flat tops this year the end of October.wonder if that area has been affected?

 

[GOODWIN]

Fires all around us last season. Little uneasy having ash falling on you.

 

[gtk]

i was smelling smoke this evening from the fires way west of us

 

[waynesworld]

I guess they better start voting Rep then maybe God will send rain. If people can't put cause and effect together then they end up with more effect. We need to keep pushing for the right thing here and we will be blessed. As I type this at Dale Hollow and the water is way up.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I have hunted in the vicinity of wild fires. Even miles and miles away, it is still hard to breathe and the smoke definitely puts a very short visibility on the glassing. Fires suck, but they happen - it's all natural.

 

[Hunter79]

I didn't get drawed for wyoming so I guess I will deal with the fires.I spoke with a lady in the yampa game and fish office and she said they are hoping to get rain soon

 

[Travis G.]

It seems like fires can be good or bad from a hunting perspective. We were on the fence about attempting our hunt last year due to fire activity. In the end I think it worked in our favor pushing game our direction. We had 4 hunters and 3 people filled tags. This was in the red feather area

 

[trap55555]

We could see smoke from some of the CO fires where we hunted last year, but we were many, many miles away.
Then it snowed, and snowed some more.

 

[tellico4x4]

In 1988, the same year that 1/3 of Yellowstone burned we got trapped in Idaho by fire. There were four hunters, two cooks, two guides one wrangler & about 20 head of livestock in camp. Hunt was a 10 day in Selway Bitteroot Wilderness. Knew we had fires in area when we packed in 10 hours but they were quite a way to west. Day 6 the wind shifted from NW & we were in trouble. We spent the next 5 days bushwhacking cross country to stay away from fires. When we finally made it to a Forest Service watch station the fire was headed due west & we were headed south down a canyon. We came within 200 yards of the fire & I can still hear the sap in spruce trees boiling before they exploded like a Roman candle into flames. Had to take all our shirts & coats and blindfold the horses as they were panicking, the mules were fine & never missed a beat. I've got a couple of 110mm instamatic pics that I took as we escaped. Really thought that this was it and we were gonna be crispy critters. Scariest time for me in outdoors in 50+ years including getting caught in avalanche. We came out about 20 miles from where we packed in.
GOD is good!

 

[DoubleRidge]

In 1988, the same year that 1/3 of Yellowstone burned we got trapped in Idaho by fire. There were four hunters, two cooks, two guides one wrangler & about 20 head of livestock in camp. Hunt was a 10 day in Selway Bitteroot Wilderness. Knew we had fires in area when we packed in 10 hours but they were quite a way to west. Day 6 the wind shifted to NW & we were in trouble. We spent the next 5 days bushwhacking cross country to stay away from fires. When we finally made it to a Forest Service watch station the fire was headed due west & we were headed south down a canyon. We came within 200 yards of the fire & I can still hear the sap in spruce trees boiling before they exploded like a Roman candle into flames. Had to take all our shirts & coats and blindfold the horses as they were panicking, the mules were fine & never missed a beat. I've got a couple of 110mm instamatic pics that I took as we escaped. Really thought that this was it and we were gonna be crispy critters. Scariest time for me in outdoors in 50+ years including getting caught in avalanche. We came out about 20 miles from where we packed in.
GOD is good!

Wow! Just now reading this! Talk about making memories! Sure footed mules are amazing animals...and the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness area is some beutiful country.

 

[GOODWIN]

In 1988, the same year that 1/3 of Yellowstone burned we got trapped in Idaho by fire. There were four hunters, two cooks, two guides one wrangler & about 20 head of livestock in camp. Hunt was a 10 day in Selway Bitteroot Wilderness. Knew we had fires in area when we packed in 10 hours but they were quite a way to west. Day 6 the wind shifted to NW & we were in trouble. We spent the next 5 days bushwhacking cross country to stay away from fires. When we finally made it to a Forest Service watch station the fire was headed due west & we were headed south down a canyon. We came within 200 yards of the fire & I can still hear the sap in spruce trees boiling before they exploded like a Roman candle into flames. Had to take all our shirts & coats and blindfold the horses as they were panicking, the mules were fine & never missed a beat. I've got a couple of 110mm instamatic pics that I took as we escaped. Really thought that this was it and we were gonna be crispy critters. Scariest time for me in outdoors in 50+ years including getting caught in avalanche. We came out about 20 miles from where we packed in.
GOD is good!

Wow what an experience! Crazy

 

[tellico4x4]

Wow! Just now reading this! Talk about making memories! Sure footed mules are amazing animals...and the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness area is some beutiful country.

Yeah, give me a mule in mtns any day over a horse