I recently found a “2002 Missionary Ridge Fire Facts” card hanging on a map of the San Juan National Forest near my desk. These facts are sobering and may bring many of the messages you will see this month into a particularly personal focus.
The Missionary Ridge Fire ignited June 9 and was not fully under control and extinguished until July 28. It burned 70,485 acres, was fought by over 4,000 personnel, destroyed 56 homes and businesses, and tragically took the life of Alan Wyatt.
The 416 Fire of 2018 ignited June 1, burning actively until July 31 and consuming 54,130 acres. Both fires evacuated roughly 1,300 homes and businesses, the sister scars parallel one another on opposite sides of the Animas River. To live in the west is to live with fire, and current conditions indicate this could be an above average fire season.
Across Colorado, May signifies Wildfire Preparedness and Awareness Month. As we enter the month of May you will see messages from many of our state, federal, local and nonprofit partners regarding wildfire preparedness and education.
Acting as a Steward of the Land is multifaceted, one of which is understanding your role in fire preparedness. Whether you are on an email list from Wildfire Adapted Partnership, the La Plata County LPC Alerts system or are watching for news releases from your nearest Ranger District or Bureau of Land Management office, you will see an uptick in outreach this month.
La Plata County is hosting a Fire Ready! Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at the County Fairgrounds. San Juan County, which is in the midst of updating its Community Wildfire Preparedness Plan, uses Facebook and a Nixle Opt-in text messaging system to alert residents in the event of a fire. Archuleta County has just completed an exhaustive update to their preparedness plan, and Ouray County has an emergency alert portal available on the county website.
These plans and resource hubs contain community- and even neighborhood-level recommendations, from home hardening, ignition zone evaluation and subdivision escape routes. We are fortunate to live in a region which has strengthened its communication and planning muscles.
This muscle memory is built from past experience with fire, some of it displacing and difficult, but it does provide us with resources to refer to as temperatures increase, vegetation dries and lightning may be seen hitting nearby ridge lines. Our region also is strong in organizations that provide us with resources and information to tuck away, much like the recommended “go bag.”
At San Juan Mountains Association, our visitor information service desks and phone lines are springing to life with visitors and locals alike seeking information about dispersed camping, fire restrictions and, wisely, advice on how to recreate carefully during abnormally dry conditions. As you tone your hiking, trail running, rowing and cycling muscles, it would be wise to activate your awareness of messaging for fire awareness and preparedness this month.
The communities and organizations of Southwest Colorado have opted-in and are fully engaged this May; consider finding the nearest and most accurate source of information to keep you wildfire aware and prepared.
Andy Hawk, Associate Director of SJMA, lived in Helena, Montana, during the summers of the big Yellowstone National Park Fires of the late 1980s. His memories of months of ash and smoke guide his fire awareness and preparedness to this day.
