The East Peak Fire

By Brad Steele and Miles Steele
(originally published 8/2013)

Arrival

"You've arrived! I've been waiting all day for you to get here."
Nathanial ran down the hill, arms raised in a great big "hug me" expression. He was running to greet Miles who had just arrived at Spanish Peaks Scout Reservation. Miles was only 14 years old, just old enough to be a counselor-in-training. He wouldn't get paid, but he would get to spend six weeks on the side of a Colorado mountain.
Nathanial had worked several summers at Spanish Peaks Scout Reservation. The counselors all referred to the camp as "Speezer", or SPSR. This year, Nathan invited Miles to come and work with him and the rest of the staff. It was quite an honor as most counselors were recommended by existing ones. Miles had been away at summer camp before, but never for the whole summer. He was looking forward to this adventure, but was also a bit anxious to be on his own for so long. While he was expecting to have an exciting summer he had no idea what kind of adventure he was in for.
The Spanish Peaks are a pair of mountains near Pueblo, Colorado that sit all alone surrounded by high plains, ranches, small towns, and National Parks. The east peak towers well above twelve thousand feet and the west peak over thirteen thousand. The isolation of these peaks makes them tremendous sights from the high plains around them. Lush and green in the middle of an arid scrub and grassland, these mountains feel like an oasis in the middle of a vast desert. The nearest town of Walsenburg is a 30 minute drive down a winding gravel road. This distance helps to isolate the area and make it feel like the wilderness that it is.

Spanish Peaks Scout Reservation

SPSR, sat in a broad, steep valley on the North face of the East Peak. Vertical rock walls known as the Dike Walls jutted up from the ground to frame the western side of the camp. The leaders camped just inside these walls at the highest point of the camp overlooking a sweeping meadow. In the center of this meadow was the medical cabin and set of flag poles just uphill. Off to the east were the kitchen, trading post and handicraft lodge. In the woods to the east of these buildings were several campgrounds that would host more than 150 scouts and leaders at a time in the upcoming weeks. Downslope was a small grass parking lot, and the archery and rifle ranges. While the camp didn't appear large, that was part of the appeal. A great number of campers could be hosted here without much disturbance to the landscape. The camp had an almost mystical appeal, complete with its own legends. The peaks are named for Spaniards that once mined coal in the mountain and enslaved the local tribe. As the legend goes there was once a great landslide leaving a huge bowl impression near the peak. This landslide killed the Spaniards and many of the Native Americans. Both the Spaniards and the Native Americans are remembered at sunset and dawn as the profile of a miner fills the bowl at sunset and the profile of a Native American fills the bowl at sunrise. It was indeed humbling to spend time in the shadow of this great mountain.

The First Week

Miles stored his equipment in his tent and set off to join the others for training. The news of fires concerned Miles little. Several forest fires had erupted in other parts of the state the day after he arrived at camp, but they were distant and no cause for concern at this camp. Walking downslope to the archery range he noticed that the cars in the lot all faced nose-out. Far back in his mind he recalled that parking nose-out allowed cars to leave more quickly if necessary. But it was a fleeting thought and it never came up again the rest of the day.
During the first week, Miles met James and many others who came from all over the state and country. Friendships forged at SPSR can become very strong. James was soon to be married to Nathanial’s sister after meeting at SPSR and spending several summers together as counselors.
Miles helped set up each campsite, learned everything he would need to know to be a good counselor, and went through numerous drills and exercises. In a way, counselors are a lot like flight attendants. They might seem like they are just there having a good time, but they are highly trained and ready for anything that might happen. His first week was rough with three training sessions, late bedtimes, and early mornings, but he made it through and was ready for the campers to arrive.

Campers Arrive

Scout troops started rolling into camp on Sunday morning. Shelly, the Program Director, greeted them as they arrived and one by one, then the counselors met the troops and assigned them to their campsites. Miles and Colin were responsible for one of the troops. Their job was to help the troops get oriented to the camp and take care of them during their session. After a week of training, Miles was ready to get started with the campers.
Miles remembered his training. He had taken as many as three classes a day during his first week. Some taught by Shelly, some taught by other counselors. Luke was one that Miles remembered from his classes. He would see Luke a lot throughout the next few days.

The Smell of Smoke

Wednesday was just like any other day. Miles had spent the day working in the kitchen and had just sat down for dinner. When he was about to eat his first bite, a call came over the speakers for everyone to meet at the flags. He rushed to shove a piece of cake in his mouth and left the rest of his food for later. A few steps to the center of camp and he was standing with the other scouts wondering what was going on.
"What's the deal?" Miles asked his friend Colin.
Colin just nodded at the trees beyond the dike walls on the far side of the leaders' camp. Miles noticed that a tree was on fire! As he watched the tree burn, a truck carrying Miles friend, James, and a handful of other camp leaders roared up the hill around the dike walls. Miles’ gaze followed the truck up the hill only to see that now where only one tree had been burning a moment before, a half-dozen trees were blazing. But what James and the other leaders saw behind the dike wall was hidden from Miles’ view in the camp. This wasn't just a couple of trees burning; it was a full-blown wildfire. Embers were already starting to fall on the camp as James radioed down to sound the evacuation alarm. Sirens blared and everyone went into quick action.

Down the Mountain

All of the campers and staff were told to leave their belongings and meet downhill in the parking lot, but not everyone with a car had their keys. As the staff was taking stock of who had car keys, Luke and Shelly rushed into the administration building to get the camp roster so that everyone could be accounted for before leaving camp. The fire quickly invaded camp. Smoke swept across the valley as embers from the fire began to descend on the leader’s camp, including Miles tent.
As the staff was organizing the drive out, Miles watched as his tent and the rest of the leaders’ camp burned in minutes. More embers fell on other parts of camp and set buildings and tents ablaze including the medical cabin just a few feet from the flag poles that the entire camp had gathered around just a few minutes before.

Can You Drive?

"Can you drive?" asked Luke.
"Yes", said Haden.
Luke shoved keys into Haden’s hand and told him to load the car and go. Miles checked scouts off the list and they all got in.
“I’m Miles” – this was the first time Miles had met Haden. All of the counselors and staff had been busy setting up camp and getting the first session going so it wasn’t odd that they had not met yet.
"The ground looks red like Mars", Miles said as he took one last look before getting in the car. The smoke filling the air turned everything a dirty red color. Miles remembered thinking about why the cars were all pointed nose-out and was very glad they were pointed that way as one car after another full of scouts, leaders, counselors, and staff left the mountain.

At the High School

Less than a half hour after leaving camp, only 45 minutes since the first smell of smoke, nearly all of the campers and staff were in nearby Walsenburg and were directed to the local high school where they would spend the night. One group of scouts, on a trek to the other side of the mountain, was picked up by bus and safely dropped off at the high school as well.
The counselors and staff at SPSR safely and calmly evacuated more than 200 people, some as young as ten years old, off of a burning mountain in less than an hour. Scouts train for emergencies just like this, but most scouts never have to face danger. These scouts had to use their training. They executed it well and with precision.
The next morning at dawn these scouts even raised a flag amid the chaos around them and said their oath and law for all to hear under the shadow of the smoke-cloud hanging overhead. Even though the camp was nearly destroyed, many scouts continued on to work at another camp so that scouts who were planning to spend a week at SPSR would still have a camp to attend. Still others planned to return the next year to help rebuild SPSR.