Ski Apache and the Little Bear Fire (Mescalero: houses, live)

[joqua]

Here is a very interesting article on one of our newest Lincoln County commissioners who also is a firefighter with one of the county volunteer fire departments. It provides a good example of how the differing agencies pull together in this area in emergency situations. In the article it mentions that the area where she lives was evacuated. What is left unsaid is that the area where her new expensive home is located did in fact burn and some of her neighbors lost their homes to the fire while she was off trying to save the ski area for three days! I don't know her personally, but she's obviously the kind of person we all admire and respect.

This is the first definitive information I've had on the conditions at the ski area. To elaborate on what she touches on in the article, the Mescaleros have two small catchment ponds on that part of the ski area that is on reservation land. They use the water trapped in those ponds to feed the snow making machines in the winter. They used the same system too save the lodges and lift houses at the base area during the fire. Of course this meant ski area employees were on duty throughout the worst of the crisis, along with fire fighters from other agencies, including this volunteer dept.

county-commissioner-describes-combating-little-bear-fire

Another unstated fact: This was the Bonito Fire Dept (volunteers) which is located in the area that was devastated by the fire. The Bonito River drainage was the main tunnel that fed the fire down the mountain to spread out every direction along its length. They could have just as easily stayed and fought the fire "at home" but when the early call from Ski Apache went out, they obviously felt compelled to help there, likely never realizing that the Bonito area would be consumed like it was.

[mortimer]

They had coverage of this on the news last night.

I assume they can adjust the snow-making machines to 'less-fine' of
a spray so that they don't lose as much as they would to evaporation.