The Ute Park Fire torched 36,740 acres leaving a barren landscape with no vegetation to absorb or impede the flow of water. The result? Increased risk of flash flooding, mudflows and -- in the words of one official -- refrigerator-sized boulders.
Thomas Vigil, emergency manager for Colfax County, met with Ute Park homeowners Sunday (July 22) at the Ute Park Fire Station, along with officials from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, New Mexico office, to discuss the risks, and the steps needed to mitigate the risks.
"I've seen a few fires in my day, but I'd never seen a crowning fire before," Vigil told the group. "We've never had a fire like this before.