More Silver Linings

Late morning on March 30, 2023, a fire began on private property on the west side of County Road 403 (almost 4 miles to the west of the main camp area), pushed onto some of our property parcels on the far west side of the ranch, moved quickly through the grasses on the adjacent NFS lands, and was stopped on the west/northwest of the Sanborn Western Camps main camp area.

As many of you in Colorado knew, and as some outside of Colorado heard via social media and news outlets, due to the high winds that day, and in the days that followed, the 403 Fire burned just over 1500 acres of grass and other “understory” fuels. All of the staff who live on the property year round were under a mandatory evacuation order for three days while firefighters worked hard to keep the fire to the west of the ridge near Big Spring.

With a large majority of the camp property to the south/southeast of the fire (opposite of the prevailing winds) we were able to move our horses and other livestock out to Witcher Ranch (which was not under evacuation) and all of the students at HTOEC and clients at The Nature Place departed camp with all of their belongings and promises to return.

We are happy to report that the 403 Fire is contained and we returned to normal operations. Students have returned to High Trails Outdoor Education Center and guests returned to The Nature Place. We are incredibly grateful to the firefighters who worked day and night to hold the line and did not allow the fire to enter Big Spring, to the many neighbors and friends who reached out to offer places for our staff to stay or places for our horses to graze, and to all of our alums and camp families who sent thoughts, prayers, and offers of help.

As so often happens, good can come from challenging situations and we know that there are silver linings as a result of the 403 Fire. The fire stayed primarily in the grass and did not impact many trees either on our property or the adjoining Forest Service land. As every farmer or rancher who has ever burned fields in the spring knows, fire can actually benefit new growth. It removes weeds, controls pests and increases soil fertility by releasing nutrients that were trapped in the old grass. We expect our meadows to be lush and green by summer.

Although we have worked hard on fire mitigation over many years, there is nothing like Mother Nature to do a really good job of it. Since the 403 Fire burned from the west, which, due to prevailing winds, is the direction our most serious fires would come from, that area has now been cleared of undergrowth and significantly reduces the chances of another fire impacting the camp for this summer and years to come. We were also excited to receive a big spring snow less than a week after the fire began…and we think the firefighters were excited, too.

We have detailed evacuation plans and have practiced them on a regular basis, but there is nothing like a real evacuation to hone the skills of our current staff (who reacted quickly and professionally during this evacuation). It is also positive that now every first responder and firefighter in the area is familiar with our property so we can expect a rapid response if any emergencies occur.

Again, the biggest silver lining of all is all of our alums and camp families who care deeply about Sanborn Western Camps and Colorado Outdoor Education Center and who reached out and sent support and good, calm, and wind-free thoughts from afar. As we approach the start of our 75th summer we are full of gratitude because we have all shared triumphs and overcome challenges over the last 75 years…and we couldn’t have done it without you.