GNF holds third Bridging the Divide event

By Lyndsie Ferrell
WOLF CREEK— The Rio Grande National Forest, in partnership with several other entities, held their third Bridging the Divide event at Wolf Creek Ski Resort on Friday, Sept. 7. The evening was full of educational lectures about the two largest fires that impacted the area throughout the years and how the forest and local communities have recovered from the tragic events.
The night started off with an opening speech by Sid Hall was was working for the Forest Service at the time of the Million Fire that devoured 9,000 acres just outside of South Fork. Hall was the first to arrive on the scene of the fire back in 2002. Hall talked about the nature of the fire and how once it hit the slope of the hillside, it took off like a rocket. “It was the driest year on record for the state,” said Hall.
Due to high winds and extreme dry conditions, the Million Fire spread rapidly, destroying 11 homes and damaging six others in its wake. The fire burned in mid-elevation mix conifer forest before reaching the aspen trees, where fire crews were finally able to get a grip on the blaze and work on containment. The fire occurred on June 19, 2002 and was contained by the beginning of July.
The next speaker that took the floor was Devin Haynie who spoke about the West Fork Complex Fire that occurred in 2013. “It was determined later that the first of three fires that made up the West Fork Complex Fire was caused by spontaneous combustion in illegally dumped rolls of sod,” stated Haynie.
Forest officials were aware of a potential arsonist that was in the area during the time of the West Fork Complex Fire but were never able to determine if the blaze was started by a person. “We have suspicions, but nothing concrete. Our official report was spontaneous combustion,” said Haynie.
The fire spread from that day forward, beginning again on June 19 and finally coming to a close near the end of August. High winds caused the fire to grow at an accelerated rate, causing it to reach areas where fire crews could not go because of the terrain. Officials during the time stated that they did not think the fire would jump the Continental Divide, only to find out that they were wrong. The fire burned just over 100,000 areas of national forest and private land, causing the evacuation of several campgrounds and the town of South Fork.
After the presentations, participants enjoyed local food and beer provided by both Wolf Creek Ski Resort and Three Barrel Brewing Company out of Del Norte.
On Saturday, participants met at the South Fork Visitor Center for a tour of Hope Creek in the West Fork Complex Fire burn scar and the Million Fire burn scar outside of South Fork. Presentations during the tour included topics about recovery and new growth within the two burn scars as well as discussions about the affects the fires had on communities and the positive changes that occurred afterward.
Mineral County Commissioner Ramona Weber discussed the affects the West Fork Complex Fire had on the town of Creede and how the community was able to come together with neighboring communities like Lake City and South Fork in order to heal from the devastating effects.
About 60 people showed up for the tours on Saturday and learned about the different efforts made in the burn scars to help stabilize soils, help native fish and animal life recover as well as seeding and replanting efforts.
A huge thank you goes out to those who participated in the event, the local businesses that donated time and the organizations who helped make the event possible including, Western State Colorado University, San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, Mountain Studies Institute, Archuleta County, Mineral County, Three Barrel Brewing Company, Wolf Creek Ski Resort, Firewise, the Rio Grande Watershed Emergency Action Coordination team and the Rio Grande National Forest.