Indian Gulch Fire, Night 2

By Jeff Warner_SAS | Published March 22, 2011

This afternoon at about 3 pm, the winds reached their peak for the day, and the smoke got very thick here in the Mtn. Ridge subdivision. Tate was home sick, so I was a captive audience until Heidi got home. I got to the top of North Table Mountain at about 10:20 pm, and the active part of the fire appears to be ~2 miles northwest. Winds were absolutely howling up there, and I frequently had to stabilize the tripod to prevent it from blowing over. There are still some hotspots on the ridgeline above the subdivision, but things look pretty good at the moment. Winds are forecast from the northwest tomorrow, so we’ll have to continue to cross fingers and toes that it doesn’t work it’s way back. If you want to see more images from today, please see the Indian Gulch Wildfire Day 1 slideshow on my website.

About 2:30 pm, before the smoke engulfed the neighborhood.

Mtn. Ridge subdivision on the left; note the burnt summit of Mt. Galbraith, with numerous hotspots (probably tree stumps burning). Note the satellite above Mt. Galbraith.

Some of you who hike or mtn. bike North Table might recognize this rather unique ‘feature’. The arc of light is an emergency vehicle traveling up Golden Gate Canyon Rd., and note Orion and the Pleaiades.

Several flareups in Golden Gate Canyon (top of Mesa View Way at left of image).

The North Table Abyss. Kind of freaky in the dark! OK, maybe not ‘kind of’ freaky, REALLY freaky!

Highway 93, Mesa Meadows, with the north part of Mtn. Ridge at left center of image.

Mesa View Way and White Ash Drive.

North Golden.

Looking north along the west edge of North Table.

Large flareup in Golden Gate Canyon. The line is an emergency vehicle heading toward the house (lights) just above, a property I’ve flown over countless times in the past en route to Central City.

16 Comments

  1. Lora March 22, 2011 at 09:23 #

    Spectacular! Amazing work and very useful information. Thanks, Jeff.

  2. Anonymous March 22, 2011 at 13:42 #

    Super pics Jeff – stay safe out there – Mark

  3. Anonymous March 22, 2011 at 16:43 #

    wow! i love that orions belt is over the town.

  4. Jeff Warner March 22, 2011 at 16:52 #

    Hey thanks, glad you all enjoyed!

  5. Bear March 22, 2011 at 19:26 #

    I do believe my parents house in the cluster of lights in the safe zone – very cool pics of Golden! Well except for the being on fire part . . .

  6. Anonymous March 22, 2011 at 20:19 #

    fantastic photos great job Jeff
    Mike

  7. Shell Avery March 22, 2011 at 21:12 #

    Amazing photos. Wow.

  8. Chelle March 23, 2011 at 09:54 #

    Amazing shots! My dad is on GFD and sent me a link to your blog. Maybe you know him…Tom Young?

    Anyways, these photographs are stunning. Thanks for sharing.

    Michelle
    shutterlovechelle.blogspot.com

  9. Jeff Warner March 23, 2011 at 18:28 #

    Chelle, the name sounds familiar, but not sure. I flew for Flight For Life for years, and ran into GFD all the time. Was he on the call with the college student with a tweaked ankle that got flown off South Table a few years ago? Glad you like 'em, and keep on shooting!

  10. Chelle March 23, 2011 at 22:02 #

    Actually, he broke his neck on a rescue call on Lookout 20 years ago. He is paralyzed now but is still active at the department and does a lot of their media work (monthly newsletter, Golden's Channel 8, etc.)

  11. Jeff Warner March 26, 2011 at 09:23 #

    Ah yes, I thought I knew the name. I haven't been fortunate enough to meet your father, but have heard lots of great things about him!

  12. Mark March 29, 2011 at 15:52 #

    You take these in HDR? If so, what software do you use?

  13. Jeff Warner March 31, 2011 at 13:28 #

    Hi Mark; I did not use HDR software. The images are close to straight from the camera (RAW files), although I did bring the 3/4-tones up just a bit to give more detail in the shadows. For the cliff wall shots, I used a small LED flashlight to 'paint' the foreground.

    I actually do need to look into HDR software for an upcoming project; do you have any suggestions (mac)?

    Thanks,

    Jeff

  14. Anonymous April 3, 2011 at 15:07 #

    I would love to know how to get a hard or digital copy of at least one of these photo's. Is there a way I could purchase something from you?

  15. Jeff Warner April 4, 2011 at 14:36 #

    Please contact me at jeff_at_jeffwarnerphoto.com (replace _at_ with the 'at' symbol).

  16. Patent Attorney September 17, 2015 at 06:47 #

    It's incredible to see the landscape all lit up like that!