McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire

missed it by just a mile. scary pics with article. –Ben McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire …for the past two weeks, McDonald Observatory’s mountaintop perch has been under siege, as a catastrophic inferno dubbed the Rock House Fire has decimated more than 300 square miles of the surrounding countryside. Dozens of homes and businesses have been [...]

missed it by just a mile.
scary pics with article.
–Ben
McDonald Observatory Dodges Wildfire
…for the past two weeks, McDonald Observatory’s mountaintop perch has
been under siege, as a catastrophic inferno dubbed the Rock House Fire has
decimated more than 300 square miles of the surrounding countryside. Dozens
of homes and businesses have been destroyed in Fort Davis, which is about
10 miles to the observatory’s southeast.
Last week, when the fire had crept to within about a mile of Mount Locke,
firefighters used a control burn on a nearby peak to consume tinder-dry
vegetation that would otherwise have provided the raging flames with a
pathway to the observatory. Most of McDonald’s 80-person staff and their
families evacuated. One of the few who stayed was senior program
coordinator Frank Cianciolo, who took the dramatic image seen here and
several others.
The National Forest ...