I want to say a profound thank you to the men and women on the fire lines of the many fires buying in Colorado, especially the High Park fire, which has been burning for weeks just north of the future home of the Secret Hidden Bunker. I have friends on those lines, and they are my heroes. I also want to send my condolences to my many friends — people I shoot with every week — who have been burned out in the High Park fire. Some of my friends had 10 minutes notice to grab what they could and run. Ten minutes! Stop what you're doing right now, look around and think, "I have 10 minutes to take those things most valuable to me before everything else in my life is reduced to ash." Just think about that. Then think about the men and women who put their bodies, their lives, between that raging hell of a canopy fire and people's homes.
DRTV and I will have some announcements on help for the fire victims next week.
I would also like to note that the wire services are full of reports of a second fire (and another in Utah) caused by "target shooting." Current, shooting is (and has been all through the spring) banned on a segment of the national forests in the Front Range, and my understanding is that theban will be expanded to most of the Front Range tomorrow.
I question whether "target shooting" in the sense we use the words are the cause of the fire, especially when the reports stem from the U.S. Forest Service, which has a long-term antigun agenda. I would, however, like to say quite bluntly to the shooters in the Front Range that we need to obey the restrictions! And in areas that aren't restricted, for god's sake use your heads! No tracers; no steel core surplus ammo (which will, rarely, spark off rocks); above all, no "exploding" targets of any kind! I also suggest carrying a good-sized fire extinguisher with you, as well as a shovel. Make sure any fire you start is out out out!
I live up here in the restricted zone, and yes, this has put a huge crimp in my shooting practice for the year. But yesterday it was 91 degrees at the Secret Hidden Bunker — the first time in 13 years the temperature has hit those highs at almost 9000 feet! The humidity is in the single digits, dead dry. Right now, the wind is down as the temperature climbs once again into the 90s, but it will come up hard in the afternoon. What that means in simple, easy-to-understand terms is every single spark goes! And with winds gusting 30-40 miles per hour, there's no stopping it.
I fully support criminal prosecution of anyone who starts a wildfire, regardless of how they do it.
I saw a report last week with that blame leveled AND with no attribution, as in who said it was shooter? Just stated as if a fact. Of course, it was MSNBC reporting, so take a giant salt lick with that little tidbit.
ReplyDeleteI almost despair when I try to test myself with a "10 minute" drill. Most I can walk away from (clothes, electronics, furniture - almost all easily replaceable), but the guns, the family pictures going back 100 years, the hand-made china cabinet that my Dad and a Swedish immigrant craftsman made, etc. - tough choices.
Stay safe MB.
Pathfinder, last year I decided to go digital and spent a ton of time just scanning in my old family photos and documents. I uploaded the photos over to Flickr.com (there are lots of such sites) and the other stuff I put on a DVD (though I could have put all of it again on someone else's storage. What the sales folks call the "cloud"). It came out so good I really don't care much what happens to the originals.
ReplyDeleteespecially when the reports stem from the U.S. Forest Service, which has a long-term antigun agenda.
ReplyDeleteIf the Forest Service wasn't antigun, they would OK shooting on the burned out portions of forest that resemble Nagasaki on Aug 10, 1945.
What harm could you do to a moonscape with any hand held weapon - or howitzer for that matter.
I wouldn't suggest holding one's breath while waiting...
i emailed foxnews saturday who was reporting that target shooters had started 10 fires in UT.. i said i hoped they were verifying the facts, and not just reporting what the FS told them... that if the forest service was giving this info, then that should be treated as suspect, given their antigun bias.. although after seeing fox news sunday on fast and furious, i am not sure they are on our side! (except for william Lajuenesse..sp?).. write emails to them!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYup ... the new pravda for the forest service is that all fires are now caused by shooters.
ReplyDeleteApparently the thunderstorms that have been rolling through the area weekly have nothing to do with fires anymore.
There are a whole slew of Clinton appointed District Rangers that need to be forcibly retired. Every one of which came out of the recreation office ( home of the posy sniffer brigade ).
Gosh, sounds like the Forest Service is working "under the radar" to ban guns...
ReplyDeleteMIchael, from latest reports, sounds like you'd better be packing up the secret hidden bunker and heading for safer ground. Hope you make it, my friend. Godspeed.
ReplyDelete