Ski Run Fire October/November 2003
Eagle Creek
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More photos and stuff will be added as it comes in.
Beth Wilson, Gerre, Janie and Justin
Justin and Janie
After a hard day there is nothing better than Janie's "recipe"
(Photo by Mary Ann and John)
Fire Fighters take a well deserved break at Rowley
Crossing (Photo by Mary Ann and John)
Is that tree going to fall on Terrell and Judy's new
addition? (Photo by Mary Ann and John)
Bed time at the baseball field for the fire fighters.
(Photo by Mary Ann and John)
Mary Ann and Gerre trying to get Max into the car for another
return to the cabin. (Photo by Mary Ann and John)
Smoke as seen from Sears Cabin
Briefing every morning at 6:30 am (Ball Field)
Fire Fighting Crews stayed in tents at ball field
They brought a dozer into our canyon to cut a fire line on
Wednesday, the day when we had high winds.
They never had to use it in our canyon because the fire teams
held the fire.
Inmate crew cutting trees by the Donnelly cabin
Jayson and Curtis (they, and Dan the IC, are the best
friends Eagle Creek has ever had)
Sizing up the tree by the Jacob cabin
Janie, Justin, Tom (Paramedic) and Jayson looking over the
stump by the Jacob cabin.
Just missed the big tree behind the lodge. Curtis, Tom and
Justin.
E-Mails
10-28-03
Eagle Creek home owners,
You may have heard that there was a fire last night and this morning that
burned about 350 acres in Johnson Canyon. The canyon just to the south
of Eagle Creek. The fire was started in the Oak Grove camp ground up
the ski run road and burned to the South and West, away from Eagle Creek
Homes. John Brummal drove to Eagle Creek this morning to check on the
homes. He reported that all was well in the canyon, there is no damage
and not even smell of smoke.
Thank You John
Terrell Hutchens
10-28-03
Heard from John Brummal earlier this evening and he asked that we send an
update regarding the fire. John is there in Ruidoso. He said the
fire is located in Carlton Canyon which is two canyons over from Eagle
Creek. Johnson Canyon is in between. John reports that there
are 250 acres in the fire. Earlier reports indicated about 400 acres.
5 acres are reported to extremely hot. There is one main fire and
several smaller fires and they have been concentrating on the smaller fires.
It is considered 0% contained. It has been reclassified as a Stage 1
fire which brings in the highest powered fire fighters available and
considerably more resources. There are 100+ firefighters presently.
Also using a helicopter for air support. There are 2 C130 slurry planes
grounded in Clovis. The fire is believed to have been started
by campers or hunters at the Oak Grove camp ground. John says that
tomorrow will be critical. The winds are supposed to blow so pray that
that they blow to the west.
We also heard from Bequi Livingston in Albuquerque who said that her boss is
one of the rangers involved in fighting the fire. She talked with him
and sounded optimistic that our cabins will be safe.
Gerre Sears, Janie Jacob, and Justin Medlock were in their cabins when the
fire broke out and were evacuated by the Sheriff at about midnight last night.
They are staying at the Swiss Chalet.
Will provide further updates as we hear news.
Terrell Hutchens
10-29-03
Here is the latest report from John Brummal. He called earlier
this evening and is now on his way back to El Paso. At the present time
they are cautiously optimistic. The winds were blowing towards the east,
towards the Ski Run Road, #532. This direction favors our cabins.
Apparently the fire is no closer to our cabins today. In talking with
Ray Medlock, it sounds like this wind direction is expected to continue
tomorrow. Winds were blowing at about 30 MPH today but are calm this
evening. The news media who visited the fire today reported they saw a
lot of smoke but very little actual fire. Approx. 270 firefighters are
there and a wildfire information fact sheet reported 8 engines, 1 dozer, 4
helicopters, and 3 watertenders are fighting the fire. News
reporters say the firefighters are gaining ground on the fire and are
successfully treating it with backfires.
That's the good news! The not so good news is that the firefighters
consider our cabins as indefensible, that is, it is too dangerous to risk
sending firefighters on FR 127A. The road is too narrow and just one
lane. So if the fire does go into our canyon, they will not be able to
fight it there but will focus on protecting the homes in Villa Madonna, an
area they can safely get to. I'm sure we would all agree that we would
not want anyone taking unreasonable risks to save our cabins.
Gerre, Janie, Justin, and John were allowed to go back to their cabins briefly
today to remove a few valuables. They also took donuts to the
firefighters this morning, showing their support for the effort. Justin
plans to attend the firefighters briefing early Thursday morning and will be
reporting back to Linda and Ray Medlock. I have encouraged them to keep
us all updated. Judie
Thursday 10-30-03
Fire update
The news is not good. Have just talked with John Brummal, who remained
in Ruidoso when he realized the winds were shifting. The fire is now
within about 1/4 miles of the Sears' cabin. It is working itself down
Carlton Canyon and, if it gets far enough, it will go up the mountain and then
into Eagle Creek and Johnson Canyon. At that point we will likely start
losing cabins. John talked with the Incident Coordinator, the man in
charge of the whole operation, and he made another trip down FR 127A today.
Said that there may be some things they can do to save some cabins. He
was not specific. He's got hard decisions to make. John told him
that if they are in a budget crunch, our association had $3,000 that could be
spent to save our cabins, perhaps to hire a bull dozer. At this time
there's not much that can be done but wait until morning and see what happens.
Winds got up to 50 MPH today and the helicopters couldn't fly. They are
expecting less wind tomorrow. Wish we had better news. Say your
prayers. Judie and Terrell
Just got off the phone with Dianne Stallings of
the Ruidoso News. She had not spoken with the Forest Service as of this
morning, but placed a call to Forest Service spokesperson Beth Wilson on our
behalf. Dianne immediately called me back to report the content of her
conversation with Ms. Wilson. Ms. Wilson, who was with the Incident
Commander Dan Oltrogge during the call, reported that the 15 acre fire that
had jumped the break into Carlton Canyon yesterday had been contained and no
longer posed an immediate threat to our homes. Much of the fire remained on
the ground and there were few, if any, true crown fires.
Winds that had grounded tanker operations
yesterday were calm and would allow for continued tanker operations today.
Yesterdays discussions about re-opening the slurry operation at the airport
had been tabled...another good sign. Helicopter flights resumed today,
and the Forest Service reports abundant water resources for fighting the fire.
Water is being dipped from Mescalero, ornamental ponds in Alto and artificial
holding ponds filled with water from tanker trucks.
According to Oltrogge, the fire remains about 3/4
of a mile from Eagle Creek Canyon...about the same distance as when the fire
ignited on Monday. Oltrogge's assesment was that Eagle Creek Canyon was
at a lower risk now than at any time since the fire began. "Calm winds
and much cooler temperatures today create much improved conditions for
fighting this fire" according to Ms. Wilson.
Sooo...doesn't look like we are completely out of
the woods yet, but the situation is looking better. The strong winds of
yesterday are not predicted to resume, although the calm of today will be
replaced by 15-20 mph winds tomorrow and Sunday. Let's keep our fingers
crossed and hope the good news continues. We will have been given a gift
to be thankful for this Holiday Season in addition to all the other wonderful
things in our lives.
Hope this finds all of you well.
Warm regards,
10-31-Friday
I just talked to John Brummal about 5:45 PM. He said things are much
improved today. None of the Eagle Creek Canyon has had any fire in it
and all of the cabins are safe at this time. We are not totally out of
danger yet though. There are about 400 fire fighters working on the fire
now and they have made a lot of headway in controlling the Ski Run fire.
The Forest Service may let residents return to their
cabins around 8:00pm to night. Thank you for your prayers
Terrell
11-2-03
A big thanks to John Brummal for his diplomacy with the Forest Service and
the Incident Commander this past week. The Ski Run fire is contained
to the upper slopes of Carson Canyon and our Eagle Creek Homes are out of
danger now. John was able to secure about 60 of the fire fighters Sat
and Sun to do more thinning around the cabins. Mary Ann said to
day that they have done more thinning in the past two days than was done all
last summer. She said the canyon looks like it did when she was a
little girl playing on Eagle Creek. This incident team even wants to
come back next year to do some controlled burns in the canyon to get rid of
the 6 inches of pine needles that create such a fire hazard for Eagle Creek.
This would allow the grass to grow again on the slopes providing a renewed
food source for the Deer and Elk.
It could possibly even begin to raise the water table along the creek.
I understand that John was going to cook hamburgers for the 60 men who were
working so hard to make our Eagle Creek homes safer from the wild fires that
are inevitable in the forest.
We are all blessed with with our places on Eagle Creek and blessed to have
John as our president in this time of close disaster. Send him a note
if you get a chance.
Terrell Hutchens
11-2-03
A big thanks to John Brummal for his diplomacy with the Forest Service and
the Incident Commander this past week. The Ski Run fire is contained
to the upper slopes of Carson Canyon and our Eagle Creek Homes are out of
danger now. John was able to secure about 60 of the fire fighters Sat
and Sun to do more thinning around the cabins. Mary Ann said to
day that they have done more thinning in the past two days than was done all
last summer. She said the canyon looks like it did when she was a
little girl playing on Eagle Creek. This incident team even wants to
come back next year to do some controlled burns in the canyon to get rid of
the 6 inches of pine needles that create such a fire hazard for Eagle Creek.
This would allow the grass to grow again on the slopes providing a renewed
food source for the Deer and Elk.
It could possibly even begin to raise the water table along the creek.
I understand that John was going to cook hamburgers for the 60 men who were
working so hard to make our Eagle Creek homes safer from the wild fires that
are inevitable in the forest.
We are all blessed with with our places on Eagle Creek and blessed to have
John as our president in this time of close disaster. Send him a note
if you get a chance.
Terrell Hutchens
11-2-03
Hi Terrell and Judy -
I'm sure that everyone is sighing with relief now since there has been much
headway, and cool weather for the fire situation. Although quite scary,
I was fortunate enough to be in touch with my boss, Jerome Macdonald, every
day. Jerome is the Operations Section Chief for Dan Oltrogee's
Incident Management Team that was managing the fire. Jerome's job is to
make the decisions for all the firefighting operations. Jerome was
with me this summer when we were at Eagle Creek and you were there - I'm not
sure if you remember him or not.
During this fire, Jerome drove up to the cabins at least twice a day to ensure
that everything was safe and he was willing to make whatever decisions he
could to save the cabins if needed. The good thing is that he never felt
that they were in immediate danger even though the one day with the high winds
was a bit scary. He even drove to ABQ for a meeting on Thursday and
showed me the map and shift briefing plan for the day's operations.
I think that it's quite important to know that these teams are like a team of
doctors during a critical operation and have to always be very conservative in
talking to the public and ere on the side of pessimism. I am just glad
that John Brummal was around to make those direct contacts. I do hope
that they were able to go back to Eagle Creek now.
I think that this is just another good reminder of just how vulnerable Eagle
Creek is. We were just fortunate this time that it was late in the year
and although very dry, we had the advantage of cooler temperatures and higher
humidity than during summertime. As Ron mentioned in his previous note,
we are working with some friends on developing a device that might help in
providing protection to the cabins given an immediate threat of wildfire.
They have the device in California right now hoping to provide some assistance
there if needed.
Although the device is brand new, it might very well be something to consider
in the future. Unfortunately, there will be other fires and certainly
other very close calls and it will be critical that Eagle Creek have a plan in
place to be prepared for the inevitable. As a fire manager, there
is lots that we can do such a thinning and prescribed burning to mitigate a
wildfire catastrophe. But there is also so much that the home owners can
do to also be proactive. I know that you all are working so hard in
providing the best protection that you can..... I really admire that. Just
remember that Ron and I are willing to do whatever we can to help
in your efforts as well.
Just for your information to share with the cabin owners. There will be
a great conference the week of November 17 at the Ruidoso Convention Center
hosted by SWFCO (Southwest Fire Council). There will be guest speakers
and vendors and some great information all regarding fire in the wildland
urban interface. I would highly recommend attending if any of you are at
Eagle Creek. For more information you can go to the website:
www.nationalfiretraining..net/sw/
We are hoping to have the device there as a vendor if we are able.
Take care and we think of you all often. Thanks again for all your help
and support regarding the memorial aspen trees...
Bequi
PEPARING A HOUSE FOR WILDLAND FIRE SEASON
11-5-03
Hello to all!! I was up to the cabins one time this October and that was on
the 4th. All cabins at that time checked out ok. The rest of the month I was
plagued with health problems but that is gradually becoming
more under control. I would like to thank Jeff,Janie,Gerre and Justin
for checking the cabins on those months that I was unable to. I was up to EC
Tues Nov 4th and after the thinning the canyon looks quite different. There
was a crew clearing and thinning and will be there through Friday. The
thinning includes all cabins all the way to the end of the road and those
cabins up Telephone canyon. I think the topic of the Ski Run Fire has been
pretty well covered by Terrel Hutchins and others so I won't get into that
except to say that we really got lucky because from what I've heard that
at one point we came very close to losing the battle. John Brummal was a real
influence in getting that thinning done.Thanks so much John. Maybe it was the
hamburgers that did it. I have included a winter forecast,check it out! Till
next time Mark
11-6-03
Hey John,
Here is a link to all the news articles on the Ski Run fire (sorted by Date)
from Google in case you want to email it to everyone on the list:
http://news.google.com/news?q=%22ski+run+fire%22&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&scoring=d
Justin