It would appear that the Orlando police blew it up.

FYI: it was the St. Petersburg police that considered blowing up the croissant.

In today’s 8AM MDT news release there is much better news on the fire. The weather was better than expected and crews were able to expand containment to 56% from 30%.

Further: “An infrared flight was flown during the night. … The results of last night’s flight show several areas of isolated heat, but no large pockets of intense heat as was seen previously.”

Quick Fire Facts:

• Date started: 09/06/2010
• Location: 5 miles W of downtown Boulder, CO
• Percent Contained: 56%
• Number of Personnel: 1096, 22 crews
• Equipment: 111 engines, 38 water tenders, 1 dozer
• Cause: Human (under investigation)
• Size: 6,427 acres
• Estimated Containment Date: September 13, 2010
• Aircraft: helicopters 3 large, 2 medium, 1 small
• Retardant: (156,012 gallons) cumulative
• Injuries to Date: 7 (all minor)
• Cost to Date: $ 4,900,000

If the weather holds, a much worse disaster has been averted by a rapid, effective response. If the weather gets bad, the resources are now available to hold while more resources are brought in.

Position: 17.7N 42.5W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [275°] near 17 mph [28 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 85 mph [135 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 115 miles [185 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 15 miles [ 30 km].
Minimum central pressure: 992 mb ↓.

Currently about 1275 miles [2050 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

As expected Igor is now a hurricane. Now we wait on the steering to harden, so we know where it’s going.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

September 11^th, 2001

On September 11^th, 2001 approximately 3,000 people died and the individual most responsible is still at large – why?

In the intervening years we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars, trampled on peoples rights, created huge new government bureaucracies, and can’t respond as well as the third world to a natural disaster.

Richard Clarke: “Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard. But that doesn’t matter, because we failed. And for that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness.“