Fire

On Monday evening I saw mention of a fire in Conifer, my home town. These things happen quite a bit, although this one was early. Fire season doesn't usually start until June, maybe late May. I called my mom to make sure she was okay and more or less put it out of my mind.

I woke up the next morning to a Facebook feed full of updates about the fire.

3000 acres. 0% containment. 5 structures lost. 1 fatality.

And thus began a near obsessive checking of the news. It was named the Lower North Fork Fire, frightening because I know a few guys who volunteer for the North Fork fire Department. I know even more people who were evacuated.

The news clip I watched of the evacuees featured an interview with my former history teacher, standing next to his wife who taught me geometry. The evacuation site, as always, was the high school and I tried to remember whether it was Spring Break or not. If it wasn't Spring Break, I knew that there would be some jerk out there rejoicing about the school cancellation. There was always some jerk grateful for the fire days.

I continued to check the news, but there weren't many changes. Some of this was good. Still only 3000 acres. Still only one fatality. But there was still no containment.

And then the number of structures increased from 5 to 10 to 20. There was still no containment, but a second body was found inside a burnt out house.

I'm not proud to admit that my first thought was "idiot". There's always someone who ignores the evacuation. They refuse to believe that their house will burn down. They think they can save their property with a hose and will. I've seen at least one example of success, but more often than not this strategy results in the loss of life as well as property.

It wasn't long before it was revealed that the two bodies were actually those of an elderly couple. Probably a couple who tried to escape and couldn't get out in time. My shame magnifies the tragedy.

The updates that come the next day aren't heartening. Close to 4000 acres burned. At least 27 structures destroyed. Still no containment.

The fire, it turns out, was started by a controlled burn that wasn't fully extinguished. These controlled burns are important to prevent fires. But someone let it smolder. And this year the weather hasn't been cooperating: hot and dry with lots of wind.

March is usually the snowiest month in Colorado. The high country gets feet of snow and the foothills get their fair share as well. This year there has been none. It's been 70 and sunny. Gorgeous, by all accounts. Except, of course, that this lack of moisture does nothing but increase the fire danger.

I've begun to suspect that this is why I love snow so much. The more snow, the less likely it is that my house will burn down. Snow means that I may be inconvenienced for a day or two, but that I won't lose everything I own. Even though I no longer live somewhere with high fire danger, I can't quite shake this mindset. A winter without snow is fundamentally wrong.

I still know what I would grab in case of evacuation. More than that, I know what I would grab if I had ten minutes to get out. Thirty minutes. An hour or two. I've prioritized my possessions and even arranged them so that it's easy to grab what I'd want to take. I know I'd still miss something crucial

I remember one summer when I just kept everything in a box so I could grab it without thinking.

The firefighters seem to be gaining ground. Containment is up to 15% and there haven't been any more fatalities. This is all good news and, barring extreme weather, the fire should be under control before too long.

It's still only March. Fire season isn't supposed to start this early, but it has. It's going to be a very long summer for the residents of Jefferson County. I just hope everyone stays safe.