Category: General (Page 60 of 64)

What a couple of days.

We made an offer. The seller made a counter offer. We made a counter offer. The seller agreed to to our  offer, but made a change in the contract to split part of the closing costs. We didn’t know how much this was until today (Monday) and it turns out our half would not exceed $90.00. For this we needed a new contract? Given the new information we signed the dotted line. Closing is tentatively set for September 14, depending on how fast the bank can process our loan application.

What a relief! Now our planning can start “for real.”

Speaking of loan applications…

It has been a while since we went through the process, but it doesn’t seem to us that a loan app should be so involved. Much of the application is boiler plate as we are only buying land, but still we need pay stubs, tax returns, lists of assets (short!) and list of liabilities. We had been pre-approved but the bank (actually a credit union) could not “officially” process the paperwork until we had a signed contract. All this stuff is available through a credit report so I guess it is just a matter of the bank seeing how honest we are in filling out the forms.

Now we submit our paperwork and wait. I am off today but will take everything in tomorrow to make copies before I mail off the originals.

Happy birthday to me!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

No answer to our offer yet. Seller has until 5:00 PM tomorrow (Sunday) to respond. In the mean time I did speak to a contractor about putting in a drive way.

Holy smoke!

$1,800.00 per day for equipment plus materials (culverts) that may be needed. 2 day minimum. Soooo we are looking right around 4 grand to just be able to drive onto the lot! (Not including the County’s drive way permit fee, of course.) This would not get us back to a home site or include any retaining walls or materials to build them.

High end, for all the goodies including decorative retaining walls, $12 – $15K depending on where we would identify a building site.

I am in the wrong business.

Here is a plat map of the property. Look at lot 174 which is the lot we want. This type is known as a ‘flag lot’ because the entrance to the lot looks like the pole of a flag.

Our proposed lot is number 174. Click on this image to bring up a larger version.

The drive would come off the road and make a left turn to get into the lot proper. It is this ‘pole’ entrance that makes the driveway so long. Distance from the road to the corner where the lot opens up is about 190 feet. The “52.16” is the width of the access alley, which is part of the lot and not an easement. Park County requires a 15 foot wide drive at a minimum so there would be a buffer zone between this lot and lots to the left and right.

The $4K I mentioned earlier would just get us the first 200 feet or so, from the road up to the first corner marker – the “pole” section of the lot. Depending on where we would site a house or shed the drive would have to be extended. I might be able to handle an extension with rental gear. A skid-steer loader (Bobcat) goes for about $265.00 per day. I have only 1 previous experience running a Bobcat but I think I could handle it.

The problem is that the entrance has to cut through a couple small ridges and be lowered to the height of the road, requiring an excavation of around 6 feet below surface level. I am not sure I could do it with rental gear. I may take a long probing rod along the next time and see if I can determine if the ridges are decomposed granite with some rocks in them or if there is a ridge of underlying rock. If I find the first condition I may try punching in the drive myself. If the second, then hiring a contractor would be the only way to go.

All of this is moot, of course, if the buyer rejects our offer. We will know tomorrow.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Yesterday I took my ATV out to view the damage caused by the Pine Ridge Fire, which at one point threatened to evacuate us from our place in DeBeque. While fire is a natural component of forests and woodlands it is hard to look at (and smell) the damage.

Burned hillside

The closest point of the fire to DeBeque, by a twisty road, was about 7.25 miles. As the crow flies it was closer than that.

One predicted side effect, erosion, has already started to take place. We did get a light rain in the area, and this mud flow across the access road shows what a little water, with no vegetation to trap it, will be doing to hillsides throughout the area.

Mud flow across access road

Good thing my ATV has 4-wheel drive. Some of this mud is extremely gooey.

Here and there you can still see traces of the red fire retardant dropped by the slurry bombers.

Red fire retardant paints some rocks

I had mentioned in previous posts that one concern was loss of electrical power to the town. As you can see from the next couple photos the power lines were damaged. Hopefully the utility company has re-routed power from these lines or we are still at risk until repairs can be made!

Burned-off power pole

The fire came right down to the railroad tracks that border I-70. Here is another shot of the damage.

Damaged cross-beam

As bad as the fire was, there are still some bright spots. Very near where the power lines were damaged this patch of small sunflowers is making a bright yellow statement.

Sunflowers survived and brighten up the landscape

For the time being all local fires are out. The recent rains have helped some but open fires of any type are still banned as the underlying dryness is still very much there. Our tension has reduced a great deal.

Over 13,000 acres burned, but here and these a tree or two survived. Some have burned lower limbs but their tops are intact. Maybe these damaged trees can make a comeback and serve as the source to re-seed the area. The part that gets me is how completely the ground cover burned. Hard to believe this area can return to it’s pre-fire condition in our lifetime but we will be keeping an eye on it over the next few years to see what progress Mother Nature can make.

The burned area is generally south of where I’ve seen the wild horses so I think they came out OK. i did see a few rabbits and a salamander or two. It is hard to imagine how they survive events like this!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

The Pine Ridge Fire, which at one point had us wondering if we would need to evacuate, is now contained. Here is part of the press release that describes the current situation:

Current Situation

Outlook

So, aside from mop-up operations, for all practical purposes the fire is no longer a danger. That is a relief! Still there seems to be no rest for the weary. Pam and I returned home from a land hunt trip yesterday, July 4, and thought we noticed a difference in the smoke pattern. The smell of smoke was stronger than it had been in a couple days. Reason: Another fire in the area. This one is not big enough (yet) to get listed on the web page at www.iciweb.org, but here is what the latest press release has to say about it:

******************

July 5, 2012

11:15 a.m.

Fire Works Firefighters on July 4th

De Beque, Colo. –  Lightning caused firefighters to work on the Third Water Springs Fire approximately 25 miles up Roan Creek Road on Kimball Mountain northwest of De Beque.

The fire was reported at 1:15 pm yesterday.  It is currently estimated to be roughly 150 acres in size.

There are seven engines, one water tender, five Type II crews, air attack, and two helicopters (one Type II and one Type III) on scene this morning.  The fire is burning in a steep, mountainous area of Garfield County in grass and pinion-juniper vegetation. The fire is burning on Bureau of Land Management public lands.

There is no current containment on this fire.

********************

Our prevailing winds are from the northwest so the fire could move toward us should the winds pick up. The one saving grace is the weather; humidity is up a bit, winds are down, and the forcast for the next few days includes a better-than-even chance of rain. We are not worried about this fire, but cautious just the same.

I’ll have more on the land hunt trip in my next post, which I hope to get done this weekend.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Well, the fire is still burning.

It has grown to over 13,000 acres, and still impacting our town of DeBeque. While the plumes of smoke have decreased we still smell the smoke in the air and see the aircraft and helicopters flying overhead as they make their way to and from the fire’s perimiter. Hotshot crews are still in town and the local high school is still active as the incident command center.

The fire is getting a lot of local media attention. We have nightly live reports from the TV stations in Grand Junction, and some updates are being posted in Garfield County media. (The fire is in Mesa County. Garfield County is the next county to the east.)

We have returned to a more natural frame of mind. This last weekend we did all our normal things, like mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, and chores around the house. Talk of evacuating the town is no longer heard, and the small area that had been evacuated in case the fire jumped  I-70 had the evacuation order lifted. People could return to their homes, and no homes or property were damaged.

The greatest concern for DeBeque is loss of power if the fire spreads into the area of the power lines. These come out of Grand Junction and follow the Colorado River up to DeBeque. The fire is heading south-west toward these lines, but it seems the fire is on top of the mesa and not along the river proper, thus staying away from the lines for the moment.

Some of the media reports have been inaccurate, such as the one in the Glenwood Post Independent that said residents had been evacuated from east of DeBeque. Not true.  We are about 32 miles from Grand Junction, although the towns of Palisade and Clifton are a few miles closer. One site put the fire 13 miles from Grand Junction, which would put the fire some 9 – 10 miles  from DeBeque instead of the actual 2 – 3 miles. I-70 runs more-or-less east and west, but does take some turns north and south as it follows the Colorado River. It seems odd to read phrases like “east of I-70” or “west of I-70” when, to us, the directions are north or south of I-70.  Oh well.

That’s about it. Although the fire is still burning, and is only about 35% contained at this time, it has dropped from being a concern for us. Life has pretty much returned to nornal.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam and I have received several calls and e-mails regarding the Pine Ridge Fire burning very close to our current residence in DeBeque. Our status: we have not been evacuated nor does it look like we will need to evacuate. (You can check for updates at www.inciweb.org. Look for the Pine Ridge Fire link.)

In this case the fire  was caused by lightning. The fire moved quickly, fueled by dry vegetation, low humidity (single digits) and moderate to strong winds.

Last night there was a community meeting to discuss the fire, including evacuation preparations. A small residential area was evacuated in case the fire jumped I-70, but that section is about 2 miles from our house. It is this evacuation notice that seems to be causing great consternation with our friends!

A back fire was begun last night and was sucessfully completed this morning. This created a safety zone between the town and the main fire. There are 2 major concerns: flying embers causing house fires and power outages as the town’s power lines run though the fire area and may be damaged or destroyed.

The first concern, structure fires, has been addressed with extra fire trucks and crews stationed in DeBeque. These crews and trucks are on the move around town and seem to be in plentiful supply.

The second concern, loss of power, has not happened yet but is still a real possiblity. Since the wires could actually burn up, replacing them would be a multi-day project. In the interim, no power for refrigeration, air conditioning, or town pumps. We have a small generator that is  large enough to power the refrigerator (we have no freezer) and a fan or two and a couple lights. We could get by. The town has back-up generators for the water plant so we assume water would still be available.

Today was the make-or-break day. With the sucessful back fire and additional trucks and crews in place it is unlikely we will have to evacuate, but that is still a possibility. There is smoke and ash in the air, and I-70 has been closed periodically. Helicopters are grabbing water from the Colorado River along I-70 and officials don’t want them bumping into road traffic. The volume of smoke and ash has been decreasing as the day goes on, a good sign the worst is over.

Here are a few photos of the smoke plume as taken from the I-70 and DeBeque interchange and from our back yard: (DeBeque is about a mile to the right of this interchange.)

Wednesday evening from I-70 interchange

Wednesday’s smoke plume from our back deck

Thursday’s smoke from our back deck

Thursday’s plume of smoke from I-70

Plume of smoke in the sky

We are still watching this closely, but wanted to let everyone know we are OK, have not been evacuated, and by the look of things right now, won’t have to evacuate.

Several local friends have offered their facilities for us to use should the need arise, and we greatly appreciate these generous offers! Should anything else develop we will be in contact with our children Felicity and Toby and will try to add a quick post to this blog.

Thanks to all for the calls and concern. They are greatly appreciated by both of us.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!