The Aftermath

So, as I said in my last post, on Memorial Day a house in my neighborhood blew up and burned down. 

Here's what the final result looks like.

And yet another shot.

 

This is what happens when you store propane tanks inside of your house and then they blow up.

Papillon

Weird and Scary Memorial Day Morning

I normally sleep in on weekends and holidays.  Today is Memorial Day here in the USA so, not surprisingly, I slept in.

I did briefly wake up around 7:00 AM due to an odd and loud noise.  At first I thought it might be a sonic boom or perhaps someone playing with a large firework.  It was not crisp enough to be a sonic boom so I decided to go back to sleep.

Later, I got up and headed out to run errands.  Imagine my surprise to see a LARGE number of emergency streets on the next street over in my subdivision.  Later on I found out that the loud noise I heard was a house blowing UP.  WTH?

Here's a link to a local newscast:
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/local/central/none-hurt-in-rio-rancho-home-explosion

It's good to know the house was not occupied so nobody was injured.  It's also good that none of the neighbors' houses were damaged.

As of about 2:00 PM, there were still fire department folks hanging around making sure the fire was completely out and also doing some research on how the fire started.

In the picture below, you can see some of the remains of the house just to the right of the fire engine.

The news reports said the fire involved some propane tanks inside the house.  They don't know what ignited them. 

This all has me wondering.  The house was allegedly not occupied and all utilities had been turned off.  So why would anyone have propane tanks INSIDE of their house?  I'm just saying - it makes you say HMMMM.

Papillon

Balloons

There are a couple of ways to tell it's autumn in the Albuquerque area.  One is the smell of roasting green chiles.  I'd explain, but it's a New Mexico thing.  You really need to experience it at least once.

The second autumnal indication is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  Lots and lots of gorgeous hot air balloons.  Today is the first day of the 9 day event. 

A number of balloons drifted over to the west side of town.

Here's a patriotic balloon seen in the area of the Rio Rancho Post Office.

This next photo is a shot of the Smokey Bear balloon coming in for a landing near the Target in Rio Rancho.  The fans of the 'caught on video' type of TV show will know this is a replacement balloon.  The original Smokey Bear was blown into a radio tower several years ago.  It was ripped beyond repair.  Fortunately the pilot and two passengers were able to climb down the tower's ladder to safety. 

I'll be trying to get more photos of the next eight days.  I actually got at least one more balloon today, but I haven't developed the film yet (my digital camera's batteries decided to die at a critical moment so I had to go 'old school').

Papillon