Col. Michael Addison (far left) speaks with firefighters during an award presentation ceremony at the Air Force Academy’s Fire Station 3 Dec. 19, 2012. More than 50 firefighters were recognized with Air Force Achievement Medals or Air Force Civilian Achievement Awards for their efforts in containing the Waldo Canyon Fire, which burned 12 acres of the Academy in June but did not cause any injuries or destroy any structures. Addison is the 10th Mission Support Group commander. U.S. Air Force photo by Elizabeth Andrews

U.S. Air Force
by Don Branum
Air Force Academy Public Affairs

More than 50 firefighters with the 10th Civil Engineer Squadron here received Air Force Achievement Medals and Air Force Civilian Achievement Awards in a pair of ceremonies Dec. 19-20 for their efforts in containing the Waldo Canyon Fire, which burned 12 acres on the Air Force Academy in June but did not destroy any structures on base.

The 18,247-acre fire was the most destructive in Colorado history, killing two and destroying nearly 350 homes in the city of Colorado Springs while damaging more than 450 others.
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U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Ron Patterson with the 52nd Engineering Battalion uses a bulldozer to build a fire break at the U.S. Air Force Academy in support of the Waldo Canyon wild fire in Colorado Springs, Colo. on June 27, 2012. The 52nd worked in five teams to create containment lines for the fire along the western border to help save Air Force assets. Photo by Staff Sgt. Stephany Richards.

The city of Colorado Springs and El Paso County have begun lifting many of the mandatory evacuation notices issued due to the Waldo Canyon wildfire. Residents are reminded that those areas now opened are under a pre-evacuation warning and they should be prepared to leave again if necessary. The remaining evacuated neighborhoods are in northwest Colorado Springs, generally west of Centennial Drive, and in far southwest Colorado Springs.
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The Waldo Canyon fire burns off the southern border of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 26, 2012. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for all housing residents on the Air Force Academy as this fire continues to spread. The Academy’s Pine Valley housing area is shown in the foreground. U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan

Day six of the Waldo Canyon fire provided the best weather to date for firefighters. Containment has grown to 15 percent with 16,750 acres burned. Evacuees from the city of Colorado Springs were to learn this evening if their homes had been destroyed by what Mayor Steve Bach called “a firestorm of epic proportions”. A report from KRDO Radio quotes Bach as stating that 346 homes have been lost on 35 streets.
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The Waldo Canyon fire burns off the southern border of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 26, 2012. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for all housing residents on the Air Force Academy as this fire continues to spread. The Academy’s Pine Valley housing area is shown in the foreground. U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan

The Waldo Canyon fire has forced some changes in Air Force Academy operations. Fox 31 in Denver is reporting that about ten acres of the Academy grounds have burned.
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DVIDS
Story by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Heaton

Lessons learned in the foothills of Colorado are taking flight in the Baltic Sea nation of Estonia.

“I’m not a dreamer who thinks that Estonia will have a big strike air force. That is not something that 1.3 million taxpayers can sustain,“ said Lt. Col. Jaak Tarien, chief of staff of the Estonian air force and a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. “But we are in NATO for a reason and we are a true partner in NATO.“
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