THE
FIRE ON PIKE'S PEAK
By F. Bruce Ryans
(53-55, 56)
Occasionally fires got out
of hand. In the early 50’s H.Q. would send staff members with pack pumps
down the lake. These units had about a 3 gallon reservoir carried as a
knapsack. The canister, with lid, had a short length of hose leading from
the bottom to the hand-held pump. By operating the telescopic action, the
nozzle could be directed at the fire with a fair stream under pressure.
A light pump with gas engine
was available. Two men could lift and carry it with ease. With intake
hose over the gunwale, it could even work from the boat. At the start,
the woven cotton hose leaked like a sieve, but soon the fibres swelled
and a good stream was produced. As resident mechanic until ’54, Al Moore
tested and maintained the unit. I recall some horseplay in ‘53. It was
a demonstration from a moving boat.
All problem fires were either
ground fires or brush fires. They were dangerous if not checked, as could
become full-fledged forest fires.
In near panic the local Fire
Ranger, Bill Sargeant, sped into H.Q. Dover Hill Tower had seen the
smoke! This was to be one unusual day. He hired most of us,
or rather conscripted us as fire fighters on the spot. He commandeered
the three, four-wheel drive, vehicles (2 army trucks and a jeep truck).
He had us scrambling for equipment. We soon headed out leaving a
skeleton crew and the camp wardens behind. This was to be two unusual
weeks.
Around the Hurst Lake Road
you could smell smoke. At the Mill Site we turned right on the old
tote road to the Gorge. You could sense panic as we all realized
what Bill Sergeant already knew. Pike’s Peak was burning! The
highest hill was ablaze.
At road’s end we unloaded
gear with one eye on the orange spots far up the hill to the north of us.
We transported that gear over the rock ridge and down to the ford.
With difficulty, the first of the two large pumps, was placed on the rocks
in the Drag River. Four men moved it, using two long-handled shovels
run through ports in the frame, and carried it like a stretcher.
 Above
us, a great cloud of smoke was blowing eastward up the valley towards Holland
Lake. As ordered, I had selected two 16 foot canoes (cedar-stripped,
canvas covered) to be placed on the trucks. One of these, to be used
as a reservoir, was carried to a flat spot some hundred feet or more up
the hill. The second large pump had to be moved up beside the canoe
in order to pump up to the second canoe, even further up the hill.
Bill had those two pumps relaying water to the top canoe before we could
get the small H.Q. pump in place beside the second canoe. Coils of
extra hose were left soaking, and we had a stream of water playing on the
nearest patches of orange. The hose was extended as needed.
Several staff filled pack pumps from the canoe and started working eastward
along the fire line. Others with axes and shovels started a fire
trench. It was three to five feet wide and six to eight inches deep
(bedrock), and was directed eastward at first, circling towards the north
(Minnie Lake).
At some point that afternoon
we noticed that we were tired, had missed a meal and more importantly,
were darned scared. All we had done was get water to the near side
of the fire and stalled any downhill progress towards the pumps, canoes
and the Drag River.
By soaking the uphill side
of the trench, the ground fire was halted in that direction. By extending
the trench in a long curve to the north we began to cut off its main path
to the east. It was a fair start, but was it enough? The brisk
wind prevented any chance of fire heading in that direction. As the
wind died late in the afternoon, even eastward progress slowed to a near
stop.
An exhausted crew pulled
back to the south side of the Drag. All but two sentinels returned
to the Lodge for food and rest. Jim MacMurray and I were sent back
to relieve the two, and camp for the night on the rock ridge. We
rolled our bedrolls (blankets) in ground sheets and slept in turns on a
small mossy patch. We had to keep an eye on the fire and there was
no handy place to pitch a tent.
Next morning we moved north
along the trench line with pack pumps dousing small fires. The canoes,
pumps and hose had survived.
Suddenly Jim had one foot
drop into a burned out cavity between pine roots. He tried to pull
up in a hurry but briefly caught his toe. It was only a couple of
seconds, but plenty of time for one-hot-foot. I recall that he made
sounds, danced, pulled off rubber boot and sock, then pumped frantically.
By the time the crew arrived he was standing in the Drag.
By the end of the first week
the trench had circled around until it was headed west above Minnie Lake.
The majority of staff were working back at H.Q. and the fire site had the
skeleton crew. One night a few of us were driving back in an army
truck with Al at the wheel. I know that I was standing in the back.
Al shouted bear! The roof hatch was open and we heard him clearly.
We saw that bear rock down the road ahead of us a short distance and then
vanish. The truck was too tired to chase him, we too tired to comment.
Bill Sergeant declared Pike’s
Peak Fire officially out after two full weeks. We could now expect
our cheques in the mail based on 60¢ per hour. Wow! This was
a most welcomed supplement to our salary. Bill recorded the cause
as a poorly doused cooking fire, right at the very top of the Peak.
Pine needles and debris in a rock fissure, provided a pathway for the ground
fire to get started.
H.Q. determined that a Toronto
troop, on a self-guided hike, were the culprits. Bill stated that
the damaged area to be 5 acres. I thought it was somewhat less.
In any event the result was sad. Although at no time did tee tops
catch fire, many fair-sized white and red pine died because of extensive
root damage. Small trees, brush, and surface materials did burn totally.
All humous materials (such as leaf mould) were destroyed right up to the
fire trench.
Footnote:
In '57 and '58 as Scoutmaster
of the 8th Willowdale Troop, I visited the Peak on an overnight hike to
East Bay. We told the story and hoped it would be an object lesson.
No fire was lit. The evidence of The Fire was quite clear. In the
mid 60’s, as Scoutmaster of the 4th Preston Troop, I visited the
Peak twice. We repeated the story and lit our cooking fires down
at the ford itself. This was difficult but safe. It is nearly
35 years since I last visited the Peak, and 46 or 47 years since The Fire
itself. Do current visitors think about The Fire? Does anybody
care?
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