Homelessness Happens: 32,000 People Chased from Their Homes

Jeremy Myer, a writer for the Denver Post reported yesterday that a three-day-old wildfire erupted with catastrophic fury on Tuesday, ripping across the foothills neighborhoods of Colorado Springs, devouring an untold number of homes and sending tens of thousands fleeing to safety in what was shaping up as one of the biggest disasters in state history. "This is a firestorm of epic proportions," said Colorado Springs Fire Chief Richard Brown. The Waldo Canyon fire in El Paso County — which had been growing in the forested hills on the city's west side — blew into an inferno late in the afternoon, raging over a ridge toward densely populated neighborhoods.

An apocalyptic plume of smoke covered Colorado's second-largest city as thousands of people forced to evacuate clogged Interstate 25 at rush hour trying to get to their homes or to get out of the way.  By nightfall, roughly 32,000 people left their homes, chased out by the flames.

While Colorado Springs and Boulder took over the headlines, crews working on the High Park fire west of Fort Collins was measured at 87,250 acres with still 55 percent containment. That fire, the most destructive in state history, has torched at least 257 homes, nine more than previously thought.

By early evening, the website for the Flying W Ranch, a Western-themed attraction west of Garden of the Gods, announced that it had "burned to the ground."

Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful, they shall receive mercy.” Cf. Matthew 5:7.  Whether it’s New Orleans, Northridge or now, Colorado Springs, one never knows when it will be their city or their time next.  But now is the time to be merciful and help the homeless around us in our own neighborhoods and hometowns. 

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