X-Git-Url: https://git.gag.com/?p=web%2Fgag.com;a=blobdiff_plain;f=blackforestfire.mdwn;h=b8b4a4642e837d8e365485944efec70f4cb80c7f;hp=de57e4a1ee2a374e58034fa73b17680cda842aa0;hb=f814f7171666e10fdc84f3499e1b15956a89d7eb;hpb=66ef55ffbf8a45708b62c53dc5095d0bd372d47d diff --git a/blackforestfire.mdwn b/blackforestfire.mdwn index de57e4a..b8b4a46 100644 --- a/blackforestfire.mdwn +++ b/blackforestfire.mdwn @@ -1,29 +1,38 @@ ## Black Forest Fire 2013 ## -Our home which was the hosting site for gag.com fell victim to forest fire on -or about 11 June 2013. Our house was very close to where the fire -started, so we had very little warning and feel very lucky to have escaped +Our home which was the hosting site for gag.com fell victim to a forest fire +which began on 11 June 2013. Our house was very close to where +the fire started, so we had no real warning and feel very lucky to have escaped with our lives, our pets, and a few of our most precious possessions. This was the second really significant forest fire in the Colorado Springs area in less than one year, and is the worst fire in Colorado history in terms of structure loss... the count of destroyed homes is over 500. -###Helping### +Our property is on an edge of the burn area, so while we lost the house, +greenhouse, and one of our sheds... our other shed and many of our trees +survived. So we quickly decided to re-build on the same property, and hoped +a new house would be ready by late summer 2014. In the meantime, we leased +a 2-bedroom apartment in nearby Colorado Springs. + +We slept for the first time in our wonderful new house on 27 September 2014. -For those of you who have asked how you can help us restore and rebuild, -thank you. We are working on several wishlists and a registry of items we -need in the short term. Please watch this space as we will update the list -of lists and the contents of the lists as we find more time to work on them. -Here's what we have so far: +If you want to hear more about our experience, feel free to view the video +of Bdale's +[talk at Linux Conf Australia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJcnllq3VYY) +about the fire and some of the lessons we learned. -* [Crate and Barrel Registry](http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Elizabeth-Garbee/r5059713) *COMPLETELY FULFILLED* -* [Bed Bath & Beyond Registry](http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?wrn=-280550117&) *COMPLETELY FULFILLED* -* [Amazon Wish List](http://amzn.com/w/2UTFPG4214HV4) *COMPLETELY FULFILLED* +###Helping### + +For those of you who asked how you could help us restore and rebuild, +thank you. We put together several wishlists and a registries of items we +needed to get started in the apartment, all of which were quickly and +completely filled. We are extremely grateful to have so many kind and +generous friends both in the Colorado Springs area, and all over the world! Many of the others in Black Forest who lost homes actually need help much more than we do. The [Pikes Peak Community Foundation](http://www.ppcf.org) -has established an +established an [emergency relief fund](http://www.ppcf.org/products/emergency-relief) that specifically benefits victims of this fire. @@ -45,6 +54,34 @@ were directly fighting the fire on and around our property: fire. ### Journal ### + +* 2014 October 3
Finished cleaning up the apartment and associated garages, + and turned in those keys. +* 2014 September 27
Began to move out of the apartment and in to our new + house! We're home! +* 2014 September 25
Our builder passed his final inspection with regional + building! A list of final (mostly cosmetic) details to finish up, + then we can move in. +* 2014 July 31
Hardwood floors are in, tile floors are in process, finish + electrical has started, trim material in the process of being stained. +* 2014 June 10
Rough-in inspections for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and + so forth all completed... on to insulation! +* 2014.May 8
Exterior doors and windows in, roofing begun, + duct work underway. +* 2014.April 26
Concrete slabs for basement and garage floor poured. +* 2014 April 9
Roof trusses installed. +* 2014 March 25
Framing started. +* 2014 March 14
Concrete poured for the foundation / basement walls. +* 2014 March 3
Concrete poured for the foundation footers. +* 2014 February 26
Ground broken! Excavation underway... +* 2014 February 19
Building permits issued! +* 2014 February 7
While visiting the site for other reasons, Bdale observed + that [Mountain View Electric](www.mvea.coop) has installed a new + transformer, riser, and meter base on the last electric pole on our + property. +* 2014 January 22
After some iteration between the architect and engineers, + we now have a complete working plan set with engineering stamps on + the way to Regional for issuance of building permits. * 2013 December 16
Got our "last" set of questions answered by our contractor, and signed the contract for constuction of our new house. * 2013 December 10
Met with contractor to review cost estimates for our @@ -84,7 +121,7 @@ were directly fighting the fire on and around our property: * 2013 June 15
Signed lease on 2-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs. * 2013 June 11
House destroyed by forest fire -
+
We're not sure who created the original artwork, but thanks to Eric and the gang at