On June 27th a man ignored a stage 2 fire ban in Costilla County Colorado and cooked some meat in a fire pit next to his camper. While he covered the fire, the next day a spark flared up and started a forest fire. This was at 3:15pm on a Wednesday. By 7 pm mountain time Forbes Park was told to evacuate by 8:30 due to the fire blocking the only road in and out. I received the news around 8 and was quite surprised and shocked since we were in the planning stages of leaving on that Saturday for the cabin. The fire was up near the entrance gate to Forbes Park. That is a good 15 minute drive from the cabin. I thought surely the cabin would be safe. For years Forbes Park has been preparing for a forest fire. Many years of drought and dead trees due to pine beetles has caused much concern. But all the preparations were not enough to stop what has become the third largest wildfire in state history. Within 24 hours the fire had covered the distance to our cabin. It took another week to know whether the cabin was destroyed or not.
The county assessors went in an evaluated each property while also updating the tax roles. Those people who had been evacuated into the Red Cross Shelters or who were staying nearby were called to a meeting where they were informed face to face as to whether their cabins were still standing. Those of us who were not there in person waited for the list to be released online. I couldn't look. It was like living was the worst suspense movie ever. Sandy, Shaunda and Susan gladly took over the job of watching for the list to be released while I did my best to distract myself and keep my nerves under control.
On Thursday evening at 6:30 I got the call from Sandy that the cabin was destroyed. Already earlier that day it had been announced that Forbes Park residents would be allowed to gain limited re-enty on Saturday from 9 to 1. I was already making plans and preparations to make the drive. Yvonne volunteered to ride with me and Heather offered to meet us in Colorado.
On Friday morning Yvonne and I left Wichita. Due to La Veta Pass being closed for the fire we had to take the long way around and come up through New Mexico. This added somewhere between 2 and 4 hours to the drive.
Driving up from New Mexico into the San Luis Valley with Mount Blanca ahead of us. The smoke could be smelled at an hour away.
Fort Garland should normally be busy on a summer evening with tourist traffic passing through heading to the Sand Dunes or Durango. The firetruck was blocking entry to the pass. It was much quieter than I thought.
The Fort Garland Community Center had been set up as a Red Cross shelter. The school had been turned into the command base for the fire fighting team handling the southern part of the fire. It is hard to see in the picture but behind the school is a tent city for the firefighters.
Things seemed close to normal but there were signs that not everything was as is should be.
Yvonne and I met up with Heather in Alamosa and spent the night in a hotel.
It is ironic that as soon as I lose my cabin a Starbucks opens in Alamosa. Yes, that makes it an hour drive from the cabin, but believe me in the scheme of things, that is close!
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