Just as we were settling into the summer season, a plume of smoke popped up on a Friday afternoon. Oh boy, we knew it was probably not an if but a when, and here we were looking at it. Over the course of the following weeks, the little plume turned into a 7,000+ acre wildfire with a crew of over 400 rotating in and out to manage it. We’ve lived through wildfires before, so we knew a bit about how to deal with the challenges. But just like with horses, experience teaches you to have a healthy dose of respect for the possibilities.
Thankfully, this fire did what it was supposed to do, and the crews working on it were amazing. The weather also helped the crews settle things down, and at this point it’s more a minor inconvenience than a constant focus of attention. The experts anticipate the fire will simmer around for the rest of the summer as it gradually moves towards the wilderness area and burns away the dead and fallen trees.
Many thanks go to the fire management crews and their hard work to keep us all safe and manage our forest. Wildfires are a part of life in the West, but we are also so thankful for our amazing guests who navigated the experience with us. With the cooperation of the US Forest Service, the incident command teams, and our guests’ flexibility we were able to continue our summer dude ranch season.
During the peak of the fire, we were keeping folks updated on our Instagram and Facebook pages, so if you want to see some amazing photos, go check them out! And, if something changes, we will most definitely begin to post updates again.