Summer of Flames

On the afternoon of June 9, 2002, a human-caused spark ignited the Missionary Ridge Fire, and on June 25 firefighters were further taxed when the Valley Fire started in the Falls Creeks subdivision, about 1.5 miles west of the Missionary Ridge Fire. Four years of drought had set the stage for catastrophic wildfires across the West. By mid June, more than one million acres of forest land had already burned nationwide, and many fires were of record-setting size, including the Hayman Fire in Colorado, the Biscuit Fire in Oregon, and the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in Arizona. In southwest Colorado, the mountains had received only 20% of their normal snowpack, temperatures were above average, and the forest floor was littered with a buildup of duff and brush. Although firefighters were on the scene within minutes, the fire spread at an alarming rate, consuming more than 6,000 acres in the first four hours. In the coming days, it grew to 25 miles long, with 800-foot-high flames and smoke plumes reaching 44,000 feet. More than 6,000 firefighters spent the next 38 days fighting the Missionary Ridge and Valley fires. The final toll included one fatality, Alan Wyatt, a firefighter from Oregon, 56 homes damaged or destroyed, 70,485 acres burned, and a suppression cost of $40.8 million.

Durango, Colorado · United States