Norwood Fire Chief John Bockrath told the Forum Monday morning his department has had two out-of-control burns in the last two weeks. The first was two weeks ago Saturday, when a woman was burning a small, 2-foot by 2-foot asparagus patch, so it would come back greener.
Bockrath said it took crews 11 minutes to arrive on scene, but in that time, the fire grew exponentially. He said it was at the neighbors’ porch. Norwood firefighters extinguished the fire, including a shed that was burning.
Luckily, volunteers were ready to roll and the response was good. In that short time period, the fire grew by four yards, hit two structures and burned a little more than one acre.
“That was in town,” Bockrath said. “I want people to know that’s a groomed lawn. That’s how dry it is out there.”
Bockrath said the woman had tested her yard by feeling the lawn. She claimed it seemed moist enough. Bockrath said don’t trust the dirt. Dirt doesn’t burn; it’s the grass itself that is dried out.
Last Thursday was a similar situation. Someone on the west side of town was burning ditches, thought it was cool enough outside, went to town to pick up a kid from school, and the fire spread. Neighbors saw smoke and called it in.
The fire spread to two and one-half acres and was headed for the neighbors. It ended up burning two buildings and a fence. Bockrath said it was a windy day, and the fire moved quickly.
“Again, we had a good response,” he said. “The wildland guys were there … Sheriff’s deputies were on the scene. Mike Schultz saw it, and he sent the forest service.”
Bockrath said last week’s fire did employ four Norwood engines and one USFS engine. It took three hours to completely extinguish.
Bockrath wants people to know it’s extremely dry. In fact, the fuel moisture levels are as low or even lower than the year the Burn Canyon Fire happened. The pinion, juniper and ponderosas are in worse shape.
“People have to be cautious,” he said. “Make sure to have a water source for a controlled burn, and hand tools or heavy equipment to contain and put it out.”
He said to call the fire department, because both Norwood and Nucla-Naturita are more than happy to assist. They’ll stand by with an engine and make sure nothing gets out of hand.
Bockrath doesn’t want anyone leaving a fire unattended. Last week, he was driving up by the Lone Cone area, and one homeowner was inside napping while a burn was taking place. He told the person to be more vigilant.
“It only takes one ember,” he said.
In other fire news, he’s more than pleased that some high school students have committed to the Norwood Fire Protection District. After a career day earlier this year, five students in 10th and 11th grades, age 17 to 18, already completed their five-day wildland academy training and are serving Norwood. The young people want to not only be wildland firefighters, but also also join the department and learn EMT skills.
Some of the kids left a baseball practice last week to attend a fire. And, they did a structural fire training on March 16 too.
“I’ve got some really good young guys,” Bockrath said. “They’re fantastic … This is going to be great.”
Bockrath said he hopes they stay with Norwood, but even if they take their trainings and move along, he’ll be happy he got them into the industry. Before COVID, he held a training and got 23 onto the fire department. Of those, 17 are still working as first-responders.
Bockrath encourages anyone who wants to work as a first-responder to get with him, and in Nucla to speak with Bryan Keeton.
Bockrath works closely with Keeton and Nucla’s department. They’re planning for a very dry season. Last week, they had a meeting in Montrose and learned the San Juans are 81% of average for snowpack.
“Bryan and I will be prepared for a very busy year,” he said. “We will be working together.”
After writing a grant and purchasing a drone, Bockrath said Tom Meehan, long-time first responder, will be flying that, in order to pinpoint “smokes.”
It’s about being proactive and using technology to locate fires quickly.
“How thin are our resources going to be spread this year? That is my concern,” he said. “People need to realize it’s dry. A little bit of snow on ground doesn’t mean anything. Watch the red flag warnings and heed them. Do not leave fires unattended. Have water and small equipment, and call the fire department.”
Currently, Bockrath has 17 controlled burns scheduled, but he’s ready for more and does prefer to assist.
