Lake of the Pines residents recall near-miss with CalWood Fire – The Daily Camera

Todd Parsons heard the CalWood Fire before he saw any flames.

Parsons, who lives in Lake of the Pines off U.S. 36, stepped into his backyard Oct. 17 to check the air quality he wanted to go for a bike ride, and he had already noticed smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire in the distance.

From his yard, Parsons watched a massive column of smoke rising in the sky, already taking over the horizon, already too close for comfort. Another fire.

People have described the roar of wildfires to jet engines or freight trains.To Parsons, it was a constant, audible whoosh.

Parsons, who cares for his father, quickly realized they would probably have to evacuate.

I didnt think it would be in two hours time, he said.

He had already started packing valuables and important papers, listening to sirens drive by with increasing regularity, when the reverse 911 call came. He moved his fathers 1964 Chevy Corvette down the street in an effort to protect it from the oncoming flames the car Parsons was brought home from the hospital in. And then he drove away, embers flying through the sky, unsure if he would see his home intact again. Parsons met with stunned neighbors a few miles away, watching as the fire drew closer.

Scott Leach was working to clean out his garage that Saturday afternoon when they heard about the wildfire. Thirty minutes later, he and his wife were throwing what they could into their car, loading in children and his mother-in-law, and evacuating. He watched homes in nearby Mountain Ridge catch fire as he drove.

But the CalWood Fire did not overtake Lake of the Pines, and most of the homes have come out largely unscathed. Less than a mile away, homeowners in Foothills Ranch and Mountain Ridge have returned to find their houses burned to the ground.

The fire came within 40 yards of Parsons property, and hes waiting to get the house assessed for smoke damage before he and his father move back in. At some homes in the neighborhood, the fire lines came within 50 feet of their homes.

Parsons is stunned, grateful and flummoxed that his house and neighborhood is still standing. He had resigned himself to losing the house hes lived in for 15 years.

It really could have been another 80 houses, he said.

Leach said it comes down to luck the wind shifting north at just the right moment that spared his neighborhood.

The emergency responders and the sheriff did an absolutely incredible job, he said. They were focused on making sure everyone was out, and were incredibly grateful for what people have done and the resources that were deployed.

Parsons, Leach and their neighbors have been allowed back into their homes for limited periods of time. On Friday, Parsons was waiting on an Xcel worker to get his power restored and throwing out food that had gone bad, including frozen items he stocked up on during the pandemic.

Youre looking at the landscape a lot differently as youre coming home, and right away you could see the charred landscape, that reminder of how powerful nature is and how susceptible we are to climate change. Its a stark reminder of how lucky we are and how small we are, he said.

The close brush with disaster also has Parsons wondering if there are more evacuations in his future. Colorados three largest wildfires in recent history have all occurred this year, spurred on by dry conditions and parched vegetation and raising further alarm about the ongoing impact of climate change.

Part of this is orienting toward the new normal in Colorado, and maybe the new normal for Boulderites, he said.

Leach, who works on building renewable energy projects across the country, said it was surreal to see a climate change-induced event come right to his doorstep.

I came away with the thought that I havent done enough, he said. I havent done enough to try to fix the problem. Ive probably been responsible for thousands of megawatts of renewable energy, and if thats the case it shows how challenging of a problem this is and how people should be focused on solving it rather than fighting it.

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Lake of the Pines residents recall near-miss with CalWood Fire - The Daily Camera