The 416 Fire has been personal. We were on pre-evacuation for three weeks and thinking our home may burn down for a month. We packed up our most valuable belongings; our memories and cherished things from our grandparents. We are thankful for the 416 fire crews who did a miraculous job saving our community. We are still in an exceptional drought. The fire has cost at least 30 million dollars in direct costs and many millions more in indirect costs. Even if the train is NOT responsible, we need reassurance that they are prepared for how they will prevent fires in the future. Many claim that the train gives back to our community. If so, they need to continue to give back and show us HOW they will increase their mitigation efforts. They need to start to build trust; otherwise I’m led to believe they care more about tourists from Texas and Albuquerque than members of our own community. If they ARE responsible, they need to stand up, apologize, and accept responsibility – not delete comments and block people on social media – and definitely not start the train while we are still in an exceptional drought. We were in Stage 2 when this happened. The train has tempted fate and weather many times before and on red flag days. Without answering to the community, building trust, and showing us what they are pro-actively doing to prevent fires, what’s to say they won’t start a fire in the future?
Anna Peterson
Durango
