The forest fire in our nearby national park continues to grow, fanned by gusty winds. It is in rough terrain, burning through beetle-killed trees, and impossible to fight on the ground, so they are letting it burn.

But don't call it a controlled burn; that phrase is not popular around here this year since a real (supposedly) controlled burn near Denver last March killed three people, burned 4500 acres, and destroyed 23 homes.

A controlled burn is where the forest service starts a fire in the woods to burn off brush and smaller fuels. The bigger trees are spared, and it is good for forest health. Before starting it, they look at various conditions including the weather forecast.

Last March, it had been very dry - no precipitation for 30 days, and the wind always blows in March, but they went ahead with their burn. And it got out of hand. Litigation ensues.

The wind has come up today, even down here, and I've seen more water-toting helicopters this morning, so I'm sure the fire is blazing up. We have a good chance of snow on Wednesday night into Thursday during the day, and that will help a lot.

Speaking of fires, last year a little cabin along the highway, built in 1920, caught fire from an electrical short, and partially burned, but it was a total loss. When it came time to tear it down, they discovered that there was a lot of asbestos inside the walls, and it would cost $35,000 to tear it down according the way the state health department wanted it done. The property owner said it wasn't insured, and he couldn't afford to pay that, so he is abandoning it to the county (it isn't his primary home). The county will pay the removal bill, now estimated at $37,000, and put a lien on the property so if it ever sells, they will get some of their money back - the land without a house is not worth that amount of money.

The fox was here this morning. He's spooked because the wind is blowing so hard. The cat apparently considers the fox to be someone she'd like to have for a play buddy, because the whole time I was feeding him, she was trying to get out the door, and at one point she was almost totally outside, and I had to grab onto her tail and hang on. She hissed at me, and that scared the fox.