Tonight we sit in a Utah hotel room, hundreds of miles and ten hours away from Jerry’s Acres, where our mountain top paradise is in jeopardy from the High Park Fire’s recent explosion.

We took a break from our dude ranch gig and came to Utah a few days ago for the Blog Paws Pet Blogging and Social Media Conference and have been blissfully ignorant of the news that another fire started in Estes Park, and the High Park Fire, which was under control, has spread closer to our place.

As I read through today’s horrifying news about the Glacier View homes that burned just several miles away from ours, tears stream down my face thinking of all of the people who have watched their dreams go up in flames, the displaced animals, and the tens of thousands of acres of forest that will take decades to recover.

I’m not much for material things. The thought of our Crystal Lakes retreat going up in flames doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the bigger picture, of the suffering that our neighbors are going through.

Our property caretaker lives in the area where 12 homes burned yesterday. She has horses, and a family. I do not know if her home is still there.

My heart broke and I bawled when reading about a couple who thought their home was safe and ran to the grocery store for food, only to return to armed guards blocking our main road, keeping them from helping their dog get out alive.

I’m crying for them, and selfishly thinking, this could be us. Wyatt could have been that dog.

The road leading to Jerry’s Acres is off-limits to everyone except emergency personnel right now. While our subdivision hasn’t been evacuated yet, it appears that most folks are making the smart move to get out. It makes me queasy imagining what our beautiful paradise must look like. The dark smoke, the burnt forest, the destruction that one lightening strike can do. I’m glad I’m not there, and in so many ways, I wish I was.

Please Help the Larimer County Humane Society

Some people have asked if they can do anything to help us. Sure, now that I think about it….please send all the good energy you have to help this fire get under control. Then, make a donation to the Larimer County Humane Society (you can do it via Blog Paws’ Chip-In widget). Thousands of these people who live in the area have animals, and many of these residents have to find temporary homes for their pets. The Humane Society is doing an incredible job helping those animals and their humans who have made it out of the fire alive. Please help them help these animals and their people.

Thank you.