By George Sibley
So far this wildfire season, we’ve been lucky in Central Colorado (knock on wood). There have been little fires here and there, but nothing like those that other parts of Colorado – and the Rocky Mountains in general – have been experiencing.
The ferocity of some of these fires has been compounded by their nearness to civilization. I am not referring to the uncivilized people who build out in what our late lamented founder called “the Stupid Zone,” remote places where people build big fancy homes and have the temerity to expect fire protection and affordable insurance. The fires this summer have roared right through the Stupid Zones and gone on to threaten whole communities. For example, the Waldo Canyon fire forced the evacuation of Manitou Springs. Whole suburbs were evacuated and some destroyed by that fire and the other big one in northern Colorado. Forest fires aren’t supposed to be a Main Street problem.