Tag: Rain Storm

Posted on

Arizona's Wallow Fire In Albuquerque

Sandias Covered In Smoke From The Wallo Fire In Az

The view of the Sandia Mountains from my front window the last few days has been obscured by smoke from the Wallow fire near the New Mexico border in Alpine, Arizona. This fire is affecting the Albuquerque area by creating a cloud of smoke which besides the smell has caused some ash to fall from the sky.

Normally I have a clear view of the Sandias except when we have a storm.

This one is over

It’s bad enough that the last two nights I have had to turn off the cooler because it was filling the house with the smell of forest fire.

This is going to be a bad year for fires unless we get some rain, which the Albuquerque area hasn’t received a significant rain storm since early this year.

The Arizona Republic as a good FAQ on the Wallow Fire and An image from the NOAA shows the smoke plume (I don’t know if the NOAA has a direct source to this image).

Wallo Fire Smoke NOAA

Update 06/07/2011: The trend for the last few days is the smoke goes away during the day and settles back in during the evening. It feels like a nuclear winter. Here are a few pictures I took from the office building last night, note the red dot which is the sun.

Wallow fire smoke as seen in Rio Rancho, NM

Wallow Fire smoke as seen in Rio Rancho, NM

While the smoke here in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque is bad, it’s not nearly as bad as for those who actually live where the fire is. The local paper The White Mountain Independent has information about all of the evacuations in the area.

Latest map from the NOAA.

Posted on

House Hunting Week 1

I started house hunting this week. No winners yet, my apartment lease is up in about 5 months so I have plenty of time. Here’s what I found so far.

In perspective, this house was just about perfect.

  • It is on a rectangular 1/2 acre lot.
  • It in the city of Rio Rancho but just on the edge so has a septic and propane tank but has city water running to it.
  • It’s on a dirt road and has a bunch of trailers in the neighbor hood, neither of which concern me.
  • The house itself is on ~1200 square feet, not huge but big enough for me. Newer construction (last few years).
  • The best part, it has a solid 8 foot fence all away around the property. Made of welded tubular steel with metal paneling. The fence goes all the way around the front to make a gate in the front.
  • It was well in my price range at $113000.

Unfortunately the house had an offer on it when we went to look at it, so I never saw the inside.

No house yet, its being built and will be done in about 3 months. But I did look at an identical house nearby that was almost done.

  • This house is in a flood plane. Yeah it will probably never flood, unless I buy this house then we will have the rain storm that only comes around every 1000 years.
  • The property, although a full acre, was all over the place. I don’t think I could put it to use the way I would want.
  • Its outside the city of Rio Rancho. Septic, propane and well water. None of which bothers me except the well is shared by two other houses. I don’t want to have to deal with neighbors at all.

Considering it’s on a flood plane they still wanted ~$130000 for it. I’m afraid this isn’t the house I’m looking for.

No photo for the next house.

  • On the edge of the city and has city water and sewer.
  • On dirt roads, lots of desert around.
  • 1/2 acre lot, most of it not cleared. I like the natural desert look.

It’s a new house, they want ~$130000 for it and it just doesn’t seem that special for the price. There were no windows in the back of the house, just weird.

Were getting close with this house.

  • It’s old. Exact age or builder isn’t known but was estimated to be 20 to 30 years old. It certainly had that 70s look to the interior.
  • Speaking of the interior, it needed work. I would want to redo much of the kitchen and living room. A fixer up for sure.
  • The lot is 1/4 acre. Unfortunately it seems most of the property is in the front, since it’s a corner lot. I would prefer it be in the back. I’m sure some creative fencing could move some to the back but it’s not ideal.

Like I said, it’s close. I going to keep looking, but I may come back to this one in a few months if I don’t find anything else (if it’s still available).