BAYFIELD – The Blue Ridge Fire, which came dangerously close to disaster and forced the evacuation or pre-evacuation of 900 homes in the Forest Lakes subdivision, was caused by human activity, officials said.
Although the official cause has not been released, investigators determined the fire started on private property where an unpermitted shack had been built, said Upper Pine River Fire Protection District Chief Bruce Evans.
The Aug. 15 fire in Unit Three – a Forest Lakes Metropolitan District subdivision tucked into steep, densely wooded hills northeast of the community – underscores what some see as a larger problem: the lawless nature of the off-grid area and the fire risks that come with it.
“It can be a little bit like the Wild West up there,” said La Plata County Commissioner Matt Salka.
Forest Lakes resident Tad Zaccard, who has lived in an off-grid cabin in Unit Three since 2015, has been sounding the alarm for years. He blames the fire on what he says is misleading real estate advertising that has attracted campers and part-time residents into a place unfit for development.
According to Zaccard, in 2018, McCarty Excavation and Construction cut rough roads into the subdivision so buyers could access their property. The lots lack water, sewage and electric hookups and are accessible only by rocky, rutted dirt roads.
“Ever since the Wells Group put out those advertisements saying that water taps were going to be supplied, the next thing you know, people kept coming, and campers kept pulling in,” Zaccard said. “I just kept seeing it get bigger and bigger, and things kept getting worse and worse.”
He recalled one incident when campers near his property built a large bonfire and let their children run through the woods carrying burning sticks. Alarmed, he called Evans, who maneuvered a fire truck up the narrow dirt road to extinguish the blaze. When Zaccard returned the next day, he found the fire still smoldering on a windy afternoon.
For years, Zaccard warned that Unit Three was a fire waiting to happen, but many neighbors dismissed him as alarmist – and sometimes harassed him for speaking up.
At the time of the Blue Ridge Fire, Evans said someone was living on private property where it started, with the lot owner’s knowledge. That person had built a campfire in a fire ring, but it escaped and spread into the woods. The owner disputes anyone was living there, but Evans is believes otherwise.
“To me, a person sleeping and staying in a place, with all their possessions like in that instance – that’s someone who’s living there,” he said.
“He (Zaccard) predicted this,” Evans said. “He had sent me numerous emails and documentation saying there are people with illegal fires in Unit Three. While a lot of other people have written him off as kind of kooky or strange, we listen to what his complaints are, and we’re responding to it.”
Under La Plata County’s land-use code, development in Unit Three is prohibited because of the fire danger and lack of infrastructure. According to the Forest Lakes Metro District’s website, the district “would not construct or guarantee the construction of any of the public improvements to be located within Unit Three” and has “neither short- or long-range plans to extend services into Unit Three.”
“I can’t speak for why the Wells Group did that,” said FLMD District Manager Corey Griffis. “I know back in 2018 they were advertising with (the district providing utilities). Previous management finally got them to stop advertising with that wording with the help of the county.”
Zaccard said he built his cabin before the roads were cut in and followed county and metro district building codes. He also does meticulous wildfire mitigation on his property and follows fire bans – something he says many campers do not.
“That’s the problem – people,” Zaccard said. “These are part-timers, a lot of them. And then you get real estate companies saying it’s a great place to set up a campsite for the summer – now they’re coming up here from New Mexico and they don’t know, they don’t care (about fire danger), because they’re not from here.”
He has repeatedly urged the county and the subdivision metropolitan district to address hazards, from narrow roads that hinder emergency response to property owners setting up unregulated summer camps. He has asked for signs warning against fire in heavily wooded areas and more attention to code enforcement.
Although Zaccard was right about the danger, any sense of vindication was overshadowed by the seriousness of the situation – and his belief that the problem will continue to grow.
“People are cutting in these driveways unpermitted, which allows them to pull in camper after camper,” he said. “And it just keeps growing. It keeps growing because they’re not properly permitting the roads.”
Evans agreed, saying Zaccard had used every tool at his disposal to raise the alarm. “He has exhausted just about every route of complaints that he possibly can, with no action,” Evans said.
Griffis said even the district does not want campers in Unit Three because of the fire risk.
“To be quite frank, we don’t want the campers out there,” he said. “But Forest Lakes doesn’t have the right to tell folks that they can’t be on their own property. So we deal with the county a lot, getting code enforcement and law enforcement out there to prevent people from squatting or starting fires.”
By law, people are allowed to camp on their property for up to 90 days, but the remoteness of Unit Three makes enforcement difficult, and the metro district lacks the authority to remove people, Griffis said. The responsibility, instead, falls to La Plata County code enforcement and the Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s disgusting, actually, that all this has been allowed to happen illegally and unpermitted, and nobody’s taken responsibility for it,” Zaccard said.
John Wells, owner of the Wells Group, pushed back against Zaccard’s claims that his company is to blame. He noted that multiple brokerages sell land in Unit Three and said, “It’s private property. People have the right to buy and sell it. We’re not promoting camping, but we cannot control what people do with their property after they buy it.”
That contradicts past advertisements and even a recent Zillow listing posted by the Wells Group for a 12.4-acre plot on Jackalope Drive, near where the fire broke out. The description acknowledged the lack of utilities but described the land as a “great place to set up a summer camp site, vacation spot.”
When asked about the listing, Wells said he was unaware his company had promoted camping but planned to address such descriptions.
The area’s lots, often sold in bulk after foreclosure or tax sales, have attracted buyers seeking inexpensive land – sometimes as little as $10,000 for three parcels. Some hope for future development and rising property values, while others see it as a cheap summer campsite.
“Unfortunately, Phase Three doesn’t have any covenants or a homeowners association. That's the crux of this thing,” Wells said. “When people complain to the metro district, they’re told there’s nothing the district can do. The burden falls on the county and, in cases of fire risk, the sheriff’s department.”
County officials, meanwhile, say long-term responsibility lies with the Forest Lakes metro district.
While the county has been aware of the dangers in Unit Three, its authority to enact long-term fixes is limited, Salka said. Until the Blue Ridge Fire, “it was out of sight, out of mind – meaning it wasn’t a hot topic,” he said.
The fire’s short life, Evans added, was a matter of luck. Winds blew in the right direction to keep it from racing downhill into lower Forest Lakes, where hundreds more homes could have been destroyed. Upper Pine also had mutual aid from neighboring fire departments and air support from helicopters and tankers.
“Forest Lakes accounts for about 21 or 22% of our tax base,” Evans said. “And if people burn down a subdivision like that and all you have left is pads or burned-out homes, people don’t pay taxes on that stuff.”
County officials said the fire was a wake-up call. Unit Three is now a priority, but Salka emphasized that permanent solutions must come from the metro district.
Code enforcement in the area is complaint-driven, and while the county responds when it can, many properties remain out of compliance because of infrastructure limitations and a slow legal process.
“Mr. Zaccard wishes that we could put stops to everything right away, right there and then – which would have included him – but we can’t,” Salka said. “It would be an overreach of the government.”
For now, the county will continue providing code enforcement and sheriff’s coverage, but any change to Forest Lakes’ service plan would require a public process before the Board of County Commissioners, Salka said.
“We’ll keep nudging and inquiring about what Forest Lakes has heard from its attorney and what options they might pursue,” he said. “We’re open to working with the district’s board and director on potential revisions.”
The addition of fire warning signs in the area is one solution Salka has encouraged over the years.
For Zaccard, it’s too little, too late. He is tired of his complaints going unaddressed, and the continued harassment from his neighbors.
Also, he’s been unable to convince the county that his home was permitted by the “old guard” of the county planning department.
So, Zaccard said he’s headed to Arizona. “I can’t live like that anymore.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
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