{"id":39943,"date":"2022-06-18T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-18T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/20-years-later-missionary-ridge-fire-torched-homes-devastated-lives-and-taught-us-lessons\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:52:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:52:36","slug":"20-years-later-missionary-ridge-fire-torched-homes-devastated-lives-and-taught-us-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/20-years-later-missionary-ridge-fire-torched-homes-devastated-lives-and-taught-us-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"20 years later: Missionary Ridge Fire torched homes, devastated lives and taught us lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The Missionary Ridge Fire started north of Durango on June 9, 2002. Over 39 days, it burned 73,000 acres, destroyed 47 homes and cabins, and caused large areas to be evacuated. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file photos)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Drought. A snowpack vanished by the end of May. Dry vegetation and erratic winds.<\/p>\n

Conditions that could describe La Plata County today were also present two decades ago when a spark ignited the Missionary Ridge Fire on Sunday, June 9, 2002.<\/p>\n

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Missionary Ridge, the largest wildfire in La Plata County and the seventh largest in Colorado history. As those who were there reflect on the blaze that scorched 73,000 acres, killed one firefighter and destroyed 47 homes and cabins, they recall expectation and surprise, destruction and a community united, and eerie parallels to today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stage was perfectly set for extreme fire behavior that day with the extreme dryness, winds coming out of the south (and) the location of the fire starting where winds could blow it up the canyon, creating a chimney effect,\u201d said Butch Knowlton, director of the La Plata County Office of Emergency Management at the time. \u201cIt all added up. It all came together to be, unfortunately, a perfect scenario for a big fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Trees
Trees combust during the Missionary Ridge Fire in June 2002. A winter of minimal snow, an early melt and drought made conditions ideal for the start of a large fire in La Plata County. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The fire<\/div>\n

To understand the Missionary Ridge Fire, one must first grasp the environment at the time.<\/p>\n

In the winter of 2001 to 2002, snowpack in Southwest Colorado was about 55% of normal, melting completely by late May, about a month ahead of schedule, according to a case study by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service.<\/p>\n

Temperatures were five degrees above average in June and the year marked the second driest since 1980 and the peak of Colorado\u2019s worst recorded drought at the time. By the beginning of June, just 1.31 inches of rain had dampened La Plata County.<\/p>\n

\"One
One of the 47 homes consumed by the Missionary Ridge Fire in June 2002. Combined, the Missionary Ridge and Valley fires destroyed 57 homes. About half were in the Vallecito area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe knew the potential. We knew how dry it was. We were getting the information that things were not looking good,\u201d said Randy Black, deputy chief of the Durango Fire Protection District, who was a volunteer firefighter at the time. \u201cWhen you get that page, your heart just kind of sinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

At about 2:30 p.m., amid Animas River Days, a spark combusted vegetation near the first switchback at the base of Missionary Ridge Road. Fire investigators never identified the specific cause of the fire, but they concluded that it was likely started by a carbon particle from a vehicle exhaust pipe.<\/p>\n

Knowlton received a page and immediately drove north. Soon, he could see the smoke and the fire beginning to move up the mountain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that no matter what size fire it was it had the potential to grow into something very big and do it very quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At 4 p.m., the fire was burning 100 acres. By the end of the day, it had consumed 6,500.<\/p>\n

Randy Baker, who now serves as a battalion chief for DFPD, was a firefighter on duty the day the Missionary Ridge Fire started.<\/p>\n

By the time he arrived at the scene, the blaze was moving toward Missionary Ridge, but crews were not terribly concerned.<\/p>\n

Then the winds changed.<\/p>\n

As the fire pushed toward the Animas Valley, the firefighting response switched to protecting houses along East Animas Road (County Road 250). Firefighters called in air support and additional resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time all that happens, which takes quite a while, that\u2019s pretty much when we knew we kind of lost the fire,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

Worsened by steep terrain, wind and vegetation that was as dry as kiln-dried lumber, the Missionary Ridge Fire was fast and erratic.<\/p>\n

It scorched ponderosa pine, mixed conifer and spruce-fir forests up to 11,400 feet in elevation, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report. Aspens, which do not typically burn because of their moisture, were vaporized by flames 100 feet tall.<\/p>\n

\"About
About 2,300 firefighters fought the Missionary Ridge Fire. Firefighter Alan Wyatt would die during the blaze after an aspen tree with a burned and unstable root system fell on him while he cleared a hazardous area near Middle Mountain. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt just took everything in its path. Big trees, little trees, aspen trees, pine trees \u2013 it took it,\u201d Knowlton said.<\/p>\n

The fire behaved so radically, and the weather was so challenging, that fire behavior analysts could not predict the fire. Their fire danger charts simply didn\u2019t work, Black said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody had ever seen that kind of fire behavior before. Everything about it was just off the charts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over 39 days, about 2,300 firefighters battled the Missionary Ridge Fire as it jumped roads and stretched past Vallecito Reservoir. Firefighter Alan Wyatt would die during the blaze after an aspen tree with a burned and unstable root system fell on him while he cleared a hazardous area near Middle Mountain.<\/p>\n

The fire was the first ever for the San Juan Hotshots, and 2002 marked the first year of the Durango Air Tanker Base. Both were instrumental in fighting the blaze.<\/p>\n

\"The
The first day the San Juan Hotshots were on the Missionary Ridge Fire a \u201cfire tornado\u201d burned cars, campers and boats parked in the middle of the dry Vallecito Reservoir. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cars
Cars burned by the \u201cfire tornado\u201d at Vallecito Reservoir during the Missionary Ridge Fire in June 2002. Worsened by steep terrain, wind and vegetation that was as dry as kiln-dried lumber, the Missionary Ridge Fire was fast and erratic. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The San Juan Hotshots first day on the blaze a fire tornado tore across the dry lake bed of Vallecito Reservoir as they fought to protect houses northeast of the town, said Shawna Legarza, La Plata County\u2019s director of Emergency Management and the superintendent of the San Juan Hotshots during Missionary Ridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember calling the air attack, and I said, \u2018Give me every air tanker and every water dropping helicopter you have because we have to hold the fire here,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget it. We kept the Missionary Ridge map for a long time in the hotshot office.\u201d<\/p>\n

The people<\/div>\n

Crystal Schmit and her husband, Paul, moved to their new property along Florida Road (County Road 240) two weeks before the Missionary Ridge Fire began, where they planned to build a house.<\/p>\n

All of their belongings were in the existing building on the property when it burned.<\/p>\n

When she returned after being evacuated for three days, all that remained was the tin from the roof, the frames of the refrigerator, washer and dryer, and melted nozzles left by firefighting crews.<\/p>\n

A bus driver for Durango School District 9-R, Schmit was busy ferrying firefighters to the front line of the fire when she was told she was not allowed to return to her house.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rumor floating around here was we had a couple of days to get out,\u201d she said. \u201cBy the time the firefighters came into my bus and we got them down to the fairgrounds, it was like \u2018You\u2019ve got three hours to get out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Dunaway, former chief of Durango Fire & Rescue Authority, watches the Missionary Ridge Fire Burn in June 2002 near Vallecito Reservoir. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Two weeks into the fire, William Herringer and his wife would drive to Hermosa and watch the Missionary Ridge Fire burn. The fire began about a mile from their house along East Animas Road, and their initial anxiety receded as the fire burned eastward to Vallecito and uphill from their home.<\/p>\n

But the fire slowly began burning downhill. Firefighters constructed a fire barrier and created more defensible space around the Herringer\u2019s home. Crews beat back the blaze and homeowners in the area celebrated.<\/p>\n

\"La
La Plata County Sheriff Duke Schirard, left, County Commissioner Josh Joswick, center, and Office of Emergency Management Director Butch Knowlton discuss the Missionary Ridge Fire in June 2002. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Within days, the fire ignited again on the hillside above the Herringers. An ash cloud collapsed sending hot embers near the Bar D Chuckwagon. Flames raced toward their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that was left of our house at the end was some concrete and a chimney that the former owner had built to withstand a Class 6 earthquake on a Richter scale,\u201d Herringer said.<\/p>\n

Peter Glick was nowhere near the Missionary Ridge Fire. Across the Animas Valley and U.S. Highway 550, he watched the blaze from his home on the ridge of Falls Creek.<\/p>\n

At night, the smoke, thick and dark amid the glow of flames, would settle in the valley. During the day, it would inundate Glick\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

Glick and his wife decided to escape the smoke and travel to Arizona. Within an hour of arriving there, he received a call from a friend that their house was on fire.<\/p>\n

As the Missionary Ridge Fire burned, an electric weed fence sparked the Valley Fire, which exploded near Falls Creek, burning 405 acres, Glick\u2019s home and nine others.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Lynagh flees the Valley Fire, which started in the Falls Creek area on the west side of the Animas Valley, across from the Missionary Ridge Fire to the east in June 2002. The Valley Fire destroyed 10 homes and was sparked by an electric weed-burning fence. (Shane Benjamin\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

When Glick and his wife returned to Durango, he was directed to the Durango Mall where a pop-up shop had been set up. They were told to pick out whatever they needed for free.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said, \u2018We don\u2019t we need anything. I can afford to go and buy underwear and that kind of thing,\u2019\u201d Glick said. \u201cThey said, \u2018You have to take things because that\u2019s what we\u2019re here for. That\u2019s what we want to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmit, Herringer and Glick each found shelter with family and friends who were unaffected by the Missionary Ridge Fire. All three remember the Durango and broader La Plata County communities responding with overwhelming support.<\/p>\n

\"The
The La Plata County and Durango communities rallied to support the firefighters battling the Missionary Ridge Fire. Those who were displaced by the blaze recall the overwhelming support they received during and after the fire. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe community response was pretty amazing,\u201d Herringer said. \u201cImmediately upon being evacuated, we had multiple people offering us places to stay, including people that we didn\u2019t really know that well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glick recalled stores that gave those affected by the fire steep discounts, and people would pay for the Glicks\u2019 dinners.<\/p>\n

Community members would collectively reprimand travelers for smoking outside.<\/p>\n

The aftermath<\/div>\n

The Missionary Ridge Fire was contained July 17, but that was not the end of its destruction.<\/p>\n

As those with experience know, the aftereffects are often as devastating, or worse, than the fires themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout the second day into the fire as (it) started moving south into each one of the headwater areas of all of these small canyons, I knew we were in trouble,\u201d Knowlton said. \u201cMy mind started shifting a little bit into the future to start evaluating how bad the flooding was going to be from some of these drainages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"After
After the Missionary Ridge Fire, rock and mudslides and debris flows worsened the effects of the fire. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Within a week of containment, rains began washing fire debris into the Florida River and flooding the valley. Trees, boulders and even cars were swept away.<\/p>\n

Over the next few months, and in some areas stretching more than a decade, flash floods, mudslides, rockslides and falling trees would plague the burn area, releasing hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of material with the slightest precipitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were rocks that moved in some of these drainages up here by my property (in the Animas Valley) that were probably five or six SUVs in size, and the floodwaters moved those down the canyons hundreds of feet,\u201d Knowlton said.<\/p>\n

Glick was staying with friends at Elkhorn Ranch after his home burned, and their home sat beside a creek that came down from Missionary Ridge.<\/p>\n

As they sat on the porch, a recent rain unleashed a wall of debris.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, we heard a rumble and we saw a boulder about the size of a Volkswagen coming down the stream aiming right at us, and behind it was just massive amounts of mud,\u201d Glick said. \u201cThat was so terrifying to us, we had to leave that house and we went and checked into a hotel in town and stayed there for three or four weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all, it took about $40 million to suppress the fire. It racked up another $50 million in direct costs, which included property and timber losses, according to the Colorado Water Conservation Board.<\/p>\n

Indirect costs, which included business losses, unemployment and the effects of floods and mudslides, eclipsed $50 million.<\/p>\n

Another $8 million and more went to rehabilitating the forests burned by the fire.<\/p>\n

Knowlton flew with the federal Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation team, whose job it was to assess and conduct immediate forest rehabilitation, when it surveyed the burn area.<\/p>\n

He explained the flooding the Animas Valley and its tributaries were prone to, but the team\u2019s reaction was one of skepticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we went down Missionary Ridge, I remember all I heard in my headset while we were flying was, \u2018Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God,\u2019\u201d Knowlton said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A La Plata County resident evacuates her horses as the Missionary Ridge Fire burns. Thousands of homes were forced to evacuate during the 39-day fire. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Crews dropped grass seed on thousands of acres of the burn area to stabilize the steep mountain slopes. The San Juan Hotshots helped with straw mulch that was spread to prevent erosion. Remediation teams constructed log erosion barriers and debris diversions.<\/p>\n

Over the last two decades, planting by the U.S. Forest Service, Florida Water Conservancy District and other groups has spurred regrowth, but mostly the forest has regenerated itself.<\/p>\n

Schmit, who rebuilt after the fire, can still see the effects of the Missionary Ridge Fire around her property, but the signs are gradually fading.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not totally grown over, but it\u2019s getting close,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One of the federal responders to the fire told Knowlton that it would be difficult to watch the area burn, but that a healthier forest would spring up with more wildlife and beautiful aspen and oak.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe named off all of these things that were going to happen after the fire, and sure enough, he was right,\u201d Knowlton said.<\/p>\n

A window to the future<\/div>\n

\u201cIf the Missionary Ridge Fire broke out today, it probably wouldn\u2019t have gotten that big because we\u2019ve got more air resources readily available that may have been able to slow it down or stop it on Missionary Ridge before it blew up and blew over,\u201d Black said. \u201cWe\u2019re light years ahead of where we were 20 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

With added investment, coordination and the evolution of wildland firefighting over the last two decades, fire officials feel more prepared to respond to the challenging conditions they were met with during the Missionary Ridge Fire.<\/p>\n

But for those who experienced the blaze, another fire in La Plata County like Missionary Ridge is simply a matter of time.<\/p>\n

With climate change increasing temperatures, drying out Southwest Colorado\u2019s forests and exacerbating wildfires, conditions in 2022 are not dissimilar from where they were 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

Though Southwest Colorado received more snow this year than in 2002, it too vanished by the end of May. Extended drought has left vegetation parched, with four wildfires igniting in La Plata County within about the last month. This spring has been one of the windiest in memory.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Missionary Ridge Fire burns northeast of Durango in June 2002. Fire suppression costs topped $40 million for the fire. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

When the Missionary Ridge Fire ended two decades ago, it was the second largest fire in state history.<\/p>\n

Today, it is seventh, about a third of the Cameron Peak Fire.<\/p>\n

Fifteen of Colorado\u2019s 20 largest fires have occurred in the last nine years. Four of the five largest have occurred in the last three years.<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters
Firefighters received support from heavy air tankers during the Missionary Ridge Fire in June 2002. The Durango Air Tanker Base opened for the first time in 2002 and made a significant difference in battling the blaze. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI think we\u2019re in for a world of hurt,\u201d Herringer said. \u201cWe\u2019re in a drought cycle that is extreme and persistent, there doesn\u2019t seem to be any way that that cycle is going to break. Our forests are gonna keep getting drier and drier and our forest fires are going to get bigger and bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Schmit hears a helicopter and sees smoke, a chill goes down her spine and memories of the Missionary Ridge Fire come flooding back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t ever really leave you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

ahannon@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The
The Missionary Ridge Fire burns at night in June 2002. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Though
Though it scarred thousands of acres, the Missionary Ridge Fire created a healthier forest that supports abundant wildlife in 2022. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The remains of a trailer after the Missionary Ridge Fire ripped through the area near Florida Road (County Road 240). The Missionary Ridge Fire resulted in about $50 million in direct costs, which included property and timber losses, according to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Durango looks back on the historic blaze, those who were there recall conditions similar to today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2357,701,950,1480,1152,3834,350,28,198,475,1745,2161,1613,84],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-39943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-disaster-general","tag-disasters-and-crashes","tag-durango","tag-durango-fire-protection-district","tag-emergency-incident","tag-emergency-management-director-butch-knowlton","tag-fire","tag-headlines","tag-history","tag-la-plata-county-colorado","tag-la-plata-county-officials","tag-missionary-ridge","tag-natural-disasters","tag-wildfire"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84493,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39943\/revisions\/84493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39943"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=39943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}