Dear Action Line: I can hear the wind howling now as I write this. Considering the warm weather we’re having, how is it looking for fire season? While you're at it, can you find out who is fiscally responsible for a wildfire? – Bernie
Dear Bernie,
We didn’t start the fire.
It was always burning, since the world's been turning. Just ask Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China or Johnnie Ray.
Songwriters can’t get away from fire metaphors and imagery. Musicians are drawn to the warmth like moths to a flame. Katy Perry makes us feel good about ourselves (’cause baby, you’re a firework), but if your spirits are low, you can head to the bar for some Fireball.
There’s just something about the musical talents of Mr. Worldwide that makes us ready for warm weather and beach parties by the river. But it’d be no surprise to anyone if warm spring and summer weather comes with a generous helping of smoke this year.
If you do, indeed, start the fire, Durango Fire and Rescue is who you should call. Don’t bother Googling the number; 911 can order up some lights and sirens in a hurry.
Fire Chief Randy Black constantly has fire on his mind. It comes with the job, evidently, making him the perfect person to talk to for this week’s question. Wildfire Battalion Chief Scott Nielson also joined in the discussion.
DFR will respond to any call within its district – the Durango Fire Protection District. If more help is needed, it will call the sheriff, who holds the esoteric title of La Plata County fire warden, who can authorize resources from the state or the feds, such as aircraft, handcrews and threatening emails from Elon Musk.
Who pays the costs can get complicated, Black and Nielson said. Take the 2022 Perins Peak Fire, for instance. The fire most likely started on land owned by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. However, the fire mostly burned on Bureau of Land Management land.
One of the first tasks for top brass is to draft up a cost sharing agreement, which dictates which agencies pay for what share.
“These cost shares are often done at like midnight on the hood of the truck,” Nielson said.
The 416 Fire in 2018 started on private land, but it quickly spread to federal land.
“We shut the highway down because the fire was right there, and we sat there, and we were signing paperwork right there in the middle of the highway,” Black said. “The Forest Service said this is ours. We own it. We’re going to take this because nobody had the resources for that.”
DFR typically doesn’t charge residents for their services – that’s why you pay taxes. But there is one scenario where they will send you a bill. Some private landowners have elected not to be included in DFPD’s tax district. If they are not in any neighboring tax district either, they will have to pay the price if they start a fire.
Unfortunately, wildfires will very likely be a reality this year. There have already been some small ones in the area in January and February, and there have been days when burn permits have been canceled.
Firefighters are particularly concerned about the Durango Hills and Rafter J subdivisions in the Durango district, and Forest Lakes, which is in the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District. There’s only one way in and one way out, which is not good during a fire.
“They’re both large subdivisions that today would never be approved, because you have to have a secondary egress,” Black said. “You’ve got to have another way out. The rules have changed since those subdivisions were put into place.”
Luckily, Black’s letter in January has inspired hundreds of people to reach out to Durango Fire for fire mitigation consultations. Black was inspired to write it during January’s fires in Los Angeles, and the chief addresses challenges faced by the fire district and what the community can do to help.
Check it out (https://tinyurl.com/mtz72h7z) – it’s an illuminating read.
Email questions and song lyric pun ideas to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
