Shortly after the appointed meeting time the Legend arrived.  The Legend, of course, is our State District Forester, C.K. Morey.  C.K. is a tall gentle man.  He is a thirty-nine year veteran of the State Forest Service, which just celebrated its 50th year.  Most of C.K.’s time of service (30 of his 39 years) has been spent laboring on our behalf in the La Veta District.  We all recognized we were in the presence of a master.  In addition, Judy Serby and Ralph Campbell from the Colorado State Forest Service Office in Fort Collins were already on hand, so we would not be short on expertise.

C.K.’s arrival signaled the start of the caravan toward the first property we would visit.  The newly formed acquaintances converted themselves into car-pooling groups.  Although the traffic was reduced, Bob Dye welcomed the group as it arrived, and carefully supervised the parking on the narrow roadway.  Bob’s forethought allowed us to not only be able to visit the site, but turn around and leave when we finished.  Since we all parked on the road, we had a minor challenge walking uphill to the house.  Everyone was up to the challenge, though, and we were soon all gathered in front of the house expectantly awaiting C.K.’s words.

This first property belongs to Gerry Rogers and Kaye Renshaw.  It was characterized as “having done minimal removal of fuels”.  The task for them is daunting for their house stands in an area heavily forested with tall ponderosa pines.  The creation of defensible space here will involve some serious lumber jacking.  Still, progress was clearly being made.  In fact, the week before they had hosted a group of friends and family from Texas who had spent time clearing the property.  As we regarded the fruits of their labor: the large mounds of cut oak brush and the newly gaping holes in the undergrowth, we all found new meaning in the words Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  The past and recent work had established an openness a good distance away from the home in all directions.  We noted with approval that even in the openness, an even more noticeable cleared circumference had been created around the propane tank.

C.K. spoke briefly about what we would be observing this day.  He then asked for questions from the group massed around him.  Questions were fired at him in continuous succession for about 45 minutes.  During this time he moved the group from the front of the house around to the back.  Most of the questions at this first stop were aesthetic in nature:  Should trees be left near the house?  How far should you clear away from structures?  How much separation should there be between trees?  How can you decide which trees should be removed?  C.K. patiently gave his experienced answers to each question.  He favored removing trees to open up the canopy to at least 40% open space.  He advocated the preservation of healthy straight trees, but urged the retention of species diversity and the occasional tree of any species that might have a unique character.  In the back of the house, which overlooked a steep rise, he observed that protection distances must be greater on the downhill side because the heat and fire would move uphill.  This side of the house was substantially clearer of trees.  Consequently, a discussion ensued about the maintenance of cut oak brush and the use of herbicides to prevent regrowth.

After a good hour on the property Diana thanked our hosts for allowing us to visit. She then encouraged the group to move on to the next stop.  Everyone was much happier walking down the drive than they had been climbing up it.  Since his property was on the way to our next stop, John Woods kindly invited everyone to drive around the circle drive on his property for a view of the work he had done.  Most took advantage of this offer.  John had clearly done considerable work.  He had established a formidable, but attractive defensible space.  He admitted that he had had the cuttings chipped or buried, which improved the appearance and eliminated fire danger.  The Woods probably rest a bit more secure knowing their property is leveler ground.  Their concern for fire running up slopes is much less.  This makes their defensive work even more effective.

The second stop was Bob and Mary Dye’s property.  This is the Firewise crown jewel of SFTR properties.  I had viewed the property when it was owned previously by Gene Downs.  At that time, I felt Gene had established an exemplary model for us to follow.  As I now gazed anew on the property, I could see Mr. Dye had not been nearly as idle in his retirement as his lengthy hunting trips might indicate.  There was an excellent turnaround drive for emergency vehicles entering and departing.  The house was constructed of fire-resistant materials.  It was difficult to perceive a place where a burning ember might gain profitable purchase.  Extensive but tastefully landscaped openness was evident for considerable distance around the house.  The trees were limbed up at least eight feet from the ground.  At the far extension of the defensible space the openness was feathered into what eventually became full forest.  The ground cover was low and maintained.  The control of the ground cover, however, did not prevent the cultivation of frequent beds of wild flowers.  I heard many people around me comment with awe saying it looked like a park.  Bob and Mary remarked that this clearing has had a positive impact on the wildlife.  For example, they enjoyed hosting a cow elk and her calf this last summer. 

As far as viewing the property, C.K. took the group on a slow circle of the cleared area.  Most people relished the opportunity to stroll in the fall sun and converse with their new acquaintances in such a pleasant setting.  On his way C.K. noted such things as the preservation of species diversity, the space left between the remaining trees, the qualities of the retained trees, the removal and maintenance oak brush and shrubs, the variety of ground cover, and the careful transition from defensible space to forest.  From time to time someone would ask a question.  He would stop and thoughtfully respond before proceeding.

At the conclusion of our loop I felt I must ask a question.  I know C.K. is ever present at any outbreak of wildfire in our area.  In addition, he is the Safety Officer for one of the few Type II (extended attack) wildfire management teams in the country.  I wanted to know as a top Safety Officer, would he let me take a crew of firefighters up the SFTR roads, which are densely lined with vegetation, to defend properties such as we had seen this morning?  C.K. listened to my question, and answered diplomatically saying it would depend on the fire.  He also reminded me that properties prepared as well as this one would not need a defense because they could survive on their own.

I was reflecting on C.K.’s answer when I heard somewhere behind me Diana’s voice requesting comments from someone from the Fire Department.  Of course I assumed that Captain Tim Guenthard or Bob Dye on whose property we were would respond.  Of course I was wrong.  No sooner had Diana’s last word left her mouth, than I heard Bob Dye cheerfully say, “That would be Ed Hockett.”  I turned around to find about fifty people staring intently at me with C.K. peering down at me, and our Forest Service guests, Judy Serby and Ralph Campbell staring me eye-to-eye.  My eyes got very big and my throat very tight.

I mentally reviewed what I had seen, and suddenly there was a flash of contact with my previous training.  I recalled for the group that last year I had watched a video prepared by Jack Cohen of the Missoula Fire Laboratory.  In this video he created a series of crown fires to test their effects on fire retardant clothing and building materials.  Above all, he was trying to determine the safe distance for defensible space from a house.  From his experiments he concluded 100’.  I asked the group to look around and see how much defensible space the Dye’s house enjoyed.  Also, I noted that Jack Cohen’s experiments had concluded that crown fires, which consume a tree within a minute, do not usually kill homes.  Instead, it is the small things that ignite and continue burning that will set homes on fire.  I added that in another video I had watched a crew of firefighters so intently watching a wildfire coming up a slope toward them that they almost failed to see a straw broom had been ignited by embers from the fire and seriously threatened to set fire to the house they were protecting.  I asked the group to look at the ground to see if a fire could approach the house, and to see if they could spot a place where an ember could lodge by the house.  Everyone agreed there was little opportunity.

At this point our visit to Rancho Dye was complete.  It was clear that everyone knew because engines began to roar to life, a dust cloud billowed, and gravel flew in all directions.  It was noon: time for lunch at the Withington’s.  I grabbed Captain Guenthard and we took off at a dead run for Department engine 4163 in which we were riding.  I suggested that he might want to turn on the siren, so we could get to the head of the line.  His driving skill gained through a career driving for UPS, though, proved to be more than enough.

When we arrived at Withington’s I could see people were pleased to see lunch was ready to be eaten and may be even more pleased to see that Port-o-Potties had been set up.  Since the last time I had been in the area, the Withington’s had constructed a large metal building.  They have always been the consummate hosts to SFTR events, but now they were entertaining the whole group indoors.  Inside the building the lunch line formed quickly.  Betty Withington, Sheryl Smith, Nancy Allred and Mary Dye stood behind brimming crocks of beef and elk chili grimly determined to prove that their recipe was the best the world has ever seen.  I noticed Walt Wolff sat smugly in his chair after one helping indicating that he believed his Green Chili recipe was still the best on the Ranch.  I, on the other hand, was not convinced.  I made repeated trips to the line in a determined effort to discover the truth.  Of course, I did not pass the warm cornbread on each sortie without taking a prisoner.  I tried my best to resist dessert, but the carrot cake kept insistently calling my name.  Once it had lured me to the dessert wagon, the carrot cake insisted I could not leave without some of its friends.

After lunch when hardly anyone could even move, preliminary reports from the triage survey of the Ranch were distributed.  The facts from the report were almost enough to ruin our fine lunch.  The survey revealed that 90% of the Ranch is in high wildfire hazard.  The classification of fuel models and predicted fire behavior indicate that ladder fuels would allow a wildfire to climb easily from the ground to the crown of trees in most locations on the Ranch.  The predicted flame height in an incident was predicted to be primarily above 8’.  This would mean a fire would probably have to be fought by dozers and/or air drops, and on much of the Ranch the flame height would even make that impossible.  Once a crown fire gets going, the predicted range of spotting is 0.4 of a mile.  A fire, then, could easily spot from hill to hill and valley to valley ensuring a rapid spread.  This information really got everyone’s attention and most of us realized that in the current fuel conditions given the wrong weather conditions the whole ranch could go up in smoke in a matter of days …or less.  It was not pleasant reading.

Judy Serby took the floor while we were still digesting both lunch and the report.  She acknowledged that what we had just read was not at all comforting.  She did indicate that the turn out for this event was a positive sign that there was appropriate concern for the problem on the Ranch to produce action.  Furthermore, she felt quite encouraged witnessing how the long-time residents so quickly embraced the newcomers at the start of the day and during the morning stops.  She indicated such camaraderie was rarely found in her work, and would certainly be an advantage in developing a community plan of action.  She summarized saying that in the face of obvious impending danger, the SFTR POA definitely has a firm cornerstone to build upon.  For this reason the Colorado State Forest Service has designated us as a model group.  They hope we will be successful in our efforts, and thus serve as a model for the County and State.  Towards this end, CSFS is working closely with us.  She then explained the nature and purpose of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).  This is the project the POA’s Forest Health Committee is working on now in an effort to gain the necessary information to set priorities and obtain possible funding for the work that needs to be done on the Ranch.  At the conclusion of her presentation Judy opened the floor for questions.  Most of the questions she received inquired about ways in which the rest of the property owners could be brought into the project.  She recommended education as the primary remedy.

At the conclusion of Ms. Serby’s presentation Diana asked if the group would like to hear C.K interpret the data of the report and discuss it with him.  Unfortunately, the data was all too clear in everyone’s mind.  Instead of discussing the group felt even more urgency to proceed onward to see what could be done to mitigate our forest problem.  Most went directly to their cars and headed toward our next stop which would be the property owned by Don and Betty Ruward.  On my way to the Department engine I took the time to study the Withington’s property.  Their property was not listed on the tour, but probably should have been.  I knew from previous visits to the property that the Withington’s had been diligently working for some time on clearing and opening up their forest.  I also knew from working on the annual POA Weed Outs with both of them that it is difficult to keep up with either of them when they were working.  Thus, I was not surprised to find that their combined forces had opened up considerable more land on the property.  Their mitigation efforts are at least as impressive as their great hospitality.

On the way to the Ruward’s, Captain Guenthard and I stopped at the property owned by Peter and Roxanne Briggs.  They are relatively new owners on the Ranch.  Earlier in the day they had introduced themselves to us.  After asking several questions, they requested that we stop at their house and evaluate their situation.  We found that their house sits at the top of the hill looking out West over a steep slope.  C.K had emphasized earlier that house placement can be crucial.  He also observed that our prevailing winds come from the West.  Therefore, structures sitting high above Western slopes are particularly vulnerable to threats from fires.  The Briggs had clearly absorbed C.K.’s message.  They had already engaged in mitigation efforts, but were eager to hear our impressions.  We talked particularly about ways to mitigate the threat of a fire rushing up their slope.

After the quick evaluation we joined the tour in progress.  Upon arriving we saw no one, but after searching we eventually found the group crowded around C.K. at the back of the house.  The Ruward’s property was characterized as “ready for a Firewise evaluation”.  They had purchased a densely vegetated property.  In response, the Ruwards accomplished extensive mitigation on their own buy the sweat of their brow.  In addition, they had hired a Hydro-axe operator to clear the steeper and harder to access parts of their land, and remove preexisting piles of brush.  Their multi-pronged attack was particularly effective.  Grass is now proliferating where previously undergrowth had ruled.  The product was beautiful and open.  We congratulated them on the fine example they set for us.  Of course when question time came, we were less interested in hearing about their personal sweat and toil than we were in hearing about the possible effort saving hydro-axe. Don and Betty endured questions A - Z about the machine.  They were only rescued from the barrage of questions when C.K. noted the day was waning. He invited everyone to take one last stroll in the Fall sun, and everyone accepted.  It is breathtaking how mitigation efforts actually improve the vitality of the nature we love so much.

Sadly… our day was coming to an end.  The original tour had planned one more stop at Dr. Jalan and Charlotte Aufderheide’s property.  Time, however, would not allow this.  Their property was to be an example of “some mitigation”.  We would have liked to view their efforts.  Hopefully, on another day we can.  I know the Aufderheides are sincerely concerned about our Forest’s health.  We appreciate their willingness to let us visit their property.

The tour participants lingered for some time on the road in front of the Ruwards reviewing the day.  Thanks were given to C.K., Judy Serby, Ralph Campbell, and to the FH/WMC members who had organized the event.  Soon good byes were being said.  One by one vehicles puttered off into the sunset.  I personally took the opportunity to drive leisurely around the roads on the South side on my way home.  I now had a heightened awareness of the attractive but dangerous beauty I was passing through.  Still, I was inspired by what I had seen and learned during the day.  More than anything I was encouraged by how I had seen people come together and develop a common vision to face the impending challenge.  It was a great day for me and the Ranch.