The
Crestone Eagle, August 2007:
Lightning starts 20-acre brush fire
by Kimberly Bryant and Steve Haines
Baca Grande residents were surprised to see
a large brush fire burning about a mile west of the subdivision
boundary on Fish and Wildlife lands on July 13. Even though
the Baca was drenched by one of our “regular”
afternoon downpours, the rain did not extend out into the
Valley. When lightning meets “fuel” and there
is no rain, you can count on the natural phenomenon of fire.
We were unhappy to see the grass and chamisa (rabbit brush)
burning so easily. Even though the Valley looks green and
pastoral right now, it is still very capable of burning. If
the wind had been blowing in the usual direction, from the
southwest, the results could have been devastating for the
Baca Grande Subdivision.
Due to the roadless terrain, gaining access to the fire proved
to be difficult. A staging area was set up at the westernmost
edge of Camino del Rey. Deputy Fire Chief Mark Jacobi managed
to drive his pick-up truck all the way out to the fire to
do the “size up” (the initial evaluation of the
fire situation). Charlie Warren, George Hill and Steve Haines
worked from the CAFS truck which got temporarily stuck in
the deep sand. Charlie and Steve ended up circling the fire,
knocking down flames on its outer edges.
Incident Commander Jacobi requested assistance from the Crestone
Fire Department and soon Crestone volunteers Talmath Lakai
and Robin Durrance were also on scene with the “green
beast” water tender. They helped keep the other attack
vehicles full of water.
Since the fire was on U.S. Fish and Wildlife land, the U.S.
Forest Service came out to take charge. They brought four
wildfire engines and a hand crew known as the “Rio Grande
Regulars.” They had about 25 people at the scene within
two hours and twenty minutes.
Some Baca Grande volunteers stood guard at the staging area
should the fire start coming toward the Baca. Fortunately,
the fire moved in a NW direction. In all it burned about 25
acres.
Other Baca Fire Fighters on the scene included Kimberly Bryant,
Joy Hill, Marie Louise Baker, Tamar Ellentuck, Mike Sullivan,
Bill Sitkin, Steve Fillenberg and Janice Gardner. Baca residents
Katie Getchell and Bob Clark arrived and helped out with traffic.
Erin Lakai provided logistical support by arranging for food
for local and USFS fire fighters. We are grateful for the
“mutual aid” cooperation of all fire departments
and their volunteers.
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