West Fork Fire Takes Aim As South Fork Evacuates

West Fork fire Tuesday evening in terrain
and fuel that's a firefighter's nightmare.
Photo: inciweb.org

The town of South Fork, Colorado, is in significant danger of being lost to the West Fork Complex fire. Today at 6:00 AM, all residents of South Fork were ordered by authorities to evacuate.

Inciweb.org reports:

The West Fork Complex consists of two wildfires, West Fork and Windy Pass, that are burning on the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests in southwest Colorado. Both fires are burning in steep, rugged terrain with large amounts of beetle-killed spruce which makes it difficult and unsafe for firefighters to mount a direct attack. 

... 

Eric Norton, Fire Behavior Analyst for the NIMO Team, said “The fire behavior we saw yesterday was so extreme, it was undocumented and unprecedented”. 

.... 

The fire made a 7 mile run to the northeast crossing the Continental Divide and burning on the ridge above Big Meadows Reservoir down to Metroz Lake. ... In some locations the fire is only 1/2 mile from Highway 160. The town of South Fork was evacuated at 0600 this morning. Structure protection is being done in South Fork and all additional resources have been sent there. Total acreage for the West Fork Complex is 29,900 acres.

History and rolling stock mean very little compared to the worth of a human life and the homes already lost this year. Still, it should be noted that standard gauge equipment has historically been stored there at the junction of the San Luis & Rio Grande and the short line San Luis Central, and there is no current means for the average blogger to identify whose rail property is currently at risk. Also worth pointing out, the long-suffering Denver & Rio Grande Railroad is based in South Fork. Once the evacuation order has been lifted, it will depend on what damage exists before they resume operations.

This West Fork Complex fire is one of several active fires now burning in Colorado. The following map, put together by 9News.com, the Denver NBC affiliate, shows all of the identified fire locations.


View Colorado Wildfires June, 2013 in a larger map

God help us. Please.◊

Royal Gorge Fire Claims Narrow Gauge Caboose

Editor's Note: Normally, I would add more details on the previous post in the comments, but this warrants it's own article.

Fox21 image showing space behind
499's tender where caboose 0584 sat

In my smoke-clouded mind, I had forgotten about a detail in the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park until I had hit the publish button. I waited on bringing it up because I hoped the fire had missed it (making it a non-issue). Well, not entirely.

Nathan Holmes of www.DRGW.net reports that the wildfire totally destroyed caboose 0584, part of a display of Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge equipment in the parking lot. Visit the DRGW.net site for the full story (click here to search his site for the story if the other link fails).

In related news, the Royal Gorge Route commented on Colorado Railroads' Facebook page that they've resumed operations, saying "we're back on track!" Great to hear they're back in business in the same week.◊

Royal Gorge Fire Burns Facilities Around Famed Bridge

Both ends of the Royal Gorge Bridge park engulfed in smoke as structures burn.
Image: Canon City Daily Record

The Royal Gorge fire burns near Canon City. Some tourist structures within Royal Gorge Bridge park have burned, but the bridge remains intact as of late Tuesday. The miniature railroad that runs inside the park appears to have suffered some damage. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

There is no word at this time regarding the status or operations of the Royal Gorge Route railroad Tuesday or what is planned for Wednesday. The railroad has operated for nearly 15 years carrying passengers from Canon City to Parkdale, Colorado along the bottom of the Royal Gorge next to the Arkansas River, ever since the Union Pacific shuttered the Tennessee Pass route between Pueblo and Dotsero. The tracks are located on the north side of the canyon, across the river from where the fire started. Given the depth of the gorge and the steepness of the walls, combustible trees and other vegetation are more sparse than above, but could still cause damage to the rails. It's assumed that until the fire is controlled and contained, the railroad will likely not be allowed to run any trains through the gorge.

Another fire burning north of Colorado Springs ignited almost the same time Tuesday afternoon as the Royal Gorge fire. The Black Forest fire has claimed many homes and displaced hundreds of families with mandatory evacuations. The fire is also uncontrolled and 0% contained. Prevailing winds pushing it east in the direction of the former Chicago Rock Island & Pacific town of Peyton.◊

Rio Grande Scenic Renders Help To Flying W Wranglers

Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is offering relief for the recently displaced Flying W Wranglers. They lost their bread-and-butter when the Flying W Ranch and their chuckwagon supper facilities burnt to the ground in the Waldo Canyon Fire. From the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad site,

BNSF To Protect Joint Line With Fire Train

According to Trains Magazine's News Wire, BNSF is sending a "fire train" to assist with protecting sections of the Joint Line threatened by the Waldo Canyon fire, which is currently threatening several communities, most notably Colorado Springs. The sections of the Joint Line under threat are actually owned by Union Pacific, which inherited the originally narrow-gauge main line of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in the UP-SP merger September 11, 1996. Despite this, BNSF's trackage rights go back to the USRA and World War I, and keeping the line in service is paramount to keep Powder River and Yampa coal flowing south to Texas.

Manitou Springs Evacuation Ordered

Guests at the historic Cliff House in Manitou Springs were turned out of their beds in the early hours of the morning to news of evacuation orders. Manitou is the home of the Cog Wheel Route, the Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway, along with many unmarked and marked artifacts of the Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland Railroads as well as it's successor, the Midland Terminal Railway that have survived up to now. Hopefully, the evacuations are just a precaution. The test will come later this morning when the winds pick up. If the worst happens, it wouldn't be a tragedy to lose artifacts or equipment. The real tragedy would be if human lives are lost. People are irreplaceable.

POTD - Vanishing Color: Cascade Green 2 - The Burning

In July 2009, BNSF 6851 was running long hood forward in Commerce City when an ethanol truck tried to beat it through a crossing. Had it been running short hood forward (with the cab on the front of the train, it's likely that all three of the crew aboard the engine would have died horribly in the massive explosion and fire that engulfed most of the engine. As it was, only one of the crew was injured, spraining their ankle after leaping from the front of the engine.

After the fire, the engine was driven away under it's own power. Despite it's stout survival of the fire, it has sat in Globeville near the BN shops, with only the nose of the unit showing that it once was painted BNs Cascade green. Speculation is that the locomotive has sat untouched for the purposes of litigation surrounding the accident.

"Vanishing colors" barely begins to describe the misfortune of BNSF 6851 an SD40-2 that
survived a 2009 fire only to sit and rust for years afterward on a BNSF Shops spur track.
Photo: Andrew De Kruif

Highball! First Run of Passengers Over Lobato Trestle From Chama To Osier

It is all over the narrow gauge world out there this morning that Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is finally back in service! While there were photos and videos of the trestle with the C&TS diesel switcher and a MOW car with ballast for the abutments, there was no official word when the trestle will be ready for daily service with the two regular trains ...until suddenly yesterday morning when a train loaded up and quietly left Chama, full of passengers.

Lobato Trestle Nearly Complete - Planned Opening Prior To Season Start

Important: See update at end of post

Chama is back!

The Lobato trestle is nearly completed and is projected to open mid-week, only days before opening weekend. Once in place, trains will once again roll from Antonito to Chama and back again, without having to halt progress at Cumbres Pass.

Friends Bring $121K Check For Lobato Trestle

The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a volunteer support organization that works to preserve the rolling stock and most of the equipment of the Cumbres & Toltec. Last year on June 24th, the trestle at Lobato burned in a spectacular nighttime blaze. No one was injured, and the investigators have ruled out arson. Even while the embers were cooling , the Friends have taken on the work of soliciting donations for the rebuild, hopefully in time to restore service from Chama this coming season, which starts May 28th.

New Mexico Antes Up For Lobato Repairs, Could Complete By Opening Day 2011

The Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which burned in a fire in late June, could possibly be back in service by next season's opening day! Long time New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson directed the state's Department of Transportation to direct $1.2 Million in federal funds toward the trestle reconstruction.

Lobato Trestle Op-Ed in ABQ Journal

Bill Hume, board member of the C&TS Railroad Management Company wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Albuquerque Journal regarding the Lobato Trestle rebuild project. In it, he covers the history of the actions taken since the fire in June.  Of note:

Lobato Trestle Possibly A Total Loss, C&TS Looks For Alternatives

The news out of Chama is not good.

On Thursday, June 24th, the Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad burned, raining flaming timbers from its steel frame onto the underbrush and evergreens below, charring 2 acres before being extinguished. That Saturday, structural engineers from HNTB in St. Louis did an emergency assessment of the trestle, and produced a preliminary report by July 1st.

Lobato Trestle Burns, Is Chama's Season Over?

UPDATE 6/21/11: Lobato Trestle is rebuilt and in use! 

What happens when you mix creosote-soaked, wooden ties, the right amount of heat and air, lots and lots of air? A very bad day for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Gorge Train Continues Self-Imposed Suspension of Operations

As of 6:00 PM yesterday, the Parkdale Canyon fire is considered 100% contained, although smoldering fires and underground hot spots still remain. Instead of resuming train operations this morning as anticipated, the Royal Gorge Route railroad has voluntarily continued its self-imposed moratorium until the owners are sure that the route is safe to continue without risking a repeat of Monday. In a statement released today, owner Mark Greska, said,

Fires Cripple Two of Colorado's Scenic Railroads

Fires in two separate locations are causing major disruptions during the summer. The Royal Gorge Route has canceled trains due to a wildfire in Parkdale. More significant is the disruption caused by a fire at Lobato for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic.