Thursday, December 2, 2010

Forest Fire! For Skywatch



On November 16th we were driving across part of New Mexico from Clovis to Las Cruces.  Once we got to Roswell, we could see a large column of smoke that turned out to be almost a hundred miles away in Ruidoso. As we later drove through the little mountain town, those flames seemed awfully close. 

The sinking sun colors the smoke as night begins to fall

Too close to the town! This was shot from the main street.

The fire was contained by firefighters and burned just one acre, with no injuries to humans or damage to structures. 

See photos of skies around the world at this week's Skywatch Friday.

23 comments:

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Awesome pic.

My dad was in the US Forest Service and got called on to help fight fires. Occasionally we would drive out to see him at the base camp if it were a large fire. The sight of a large fire on a mountainside is very scary especially when I thought of all the guys (and gals) up there with it.

Sylvia K said...

Fantastic capture, Clair! Scary and beautiful at the same time. Glad it was quickly contained! Have a great day and a beautiful weekend!!

Sylvia

JC said...

Amazing photos of the fire ...
I have actually been to Roswell two times. Not everyone can say that now can they ... and yes, we went to the museum.

Rajesh said...

Terrific shots.

EG CameraGirl said...

Thank goodness no humans were hurt! You got some great photos, though.

Photo Cache said...

nice capture. but must have been scary too while you seem to be driving towards it.

Ewok

Martha Z said...

Fire, that is something always on the minds of those in the west. Years of fire suppression and drought have made us even more vulnerable.

Anonymous said...

WoW! How cool is it that the clouds turned the color of the sunset!

Kim, USA said...

Thankfully the fire was put off before it will harm property and take life. Great shot you have here. Thanks for sharing!
Sky Watch

Gabriela Abalo said...

awesome shots!!

cheers from Uruguay :)

Laura said...

Thank God no one was injured...such amazing photos though! Destruction and beauty are so often intertwined.

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

Terrific photos, Clair! Frightening but incredible.

Esther Garvi said...

Wow - bush fires or forest fires are something I have never had to fear... Those flames look very close!!

Springman said...

Oh my, vote yes on those Firefighter millages!

Randi said...

Terrific shots of the fire...looks very dramatic!

Anonymous said...

How dramatic! I always get a huge lump in my throat and knot in my stomach when I see things like that.

Quiet Paths said...

That is a familiar shot; they make an interesting photo but I loathe fires. We've put up with them a lot but not last year! Yay! Glad it was only a minor incident.

Owlfarmer said...

As fear-inducing as fires are, they do manage to be beautiful at the same time. Smoke, like other pollutants, adds reflective surfaces which often make for gorgeous shots. I love these--despite the danger they imply. Nice job.

Linda said...

A forest fire in winter seemed a strange idea to be at first, but I suppose it's very dry, so no reason why they should be confined to summer.

Jeannette StG said...

Eek! With large fires it's not only the fire, but also smoke and ashes that are very unhealthy! Live in Calif., so we are pretty familiar with large fires.
Stunning how your first smoky cloud came out like mango-yellow!

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

controlled burns, sometimes a little scary but required.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Wow! What a big fire! Fortunately the fire was contained by firefighters.

Anonymous said...

Really great pictures but so scary. Glad they were able to contain the fire. Fire scares me to death. Have a good week. It is twelve degrees here tonight and snow. I am ready for spring already!