It has been nearly 3 months since the Hermit’s Peak and Calf Canyon Fire overran our camp property. The fire has now burned 341,735 acres and remains at 93% containment. It became the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, destroying hundreds of homes and displacing thousands of people.
While the fire burned over our entire 480 acre property, not all was lost. Our newest and most valuable buildings all survived. The chapel, the dining hall, the retreat center (yellow dorm), the upper log cabins, the directors house, henderson, mcbride, pine ridge, whispering creek, the old chow hall, and our main shop building all survived unscathed. There is a patch of green trees right in the heart of our camp. We did lose 12 cabins, 5 bridges, various other sheds, pavilions, equipment and shop supplies, some electrical/telecommunications/water infrastructure, and several trailers. Power was out for 7 weeks.
The most difficult and ongoing issue is the disruption to road access due to the loss of the bridge over Beaver Creek and the destabilization of the last mile of road leading to camp. The road remains closed to all traffic except us, forestry officials, and various contractors. The situation is complicated by the ever present threat of flash flooding and debris flows due to the large size of the burn scar in our watershed. If you’ve ever spent time at El Porvenir in July or August, you know that on any given day a thunderstorm can drop an inch or two of rain in a very short period of time. Those short and hard rain events now create dangerous and destructive flash flooding on a scale of 100-200 times the pre-burn runoff rates. As I write these words, there is no vehicle access into or out of the camp due to the last debris flow washing out our low water crossing. Even parking on the opposite side of the creek is not safe, the tires sit in the silty ash debris from the last flash flood, and we keep our eye on the weather radar in case we need to move the vehicle at a moment’s notice.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. If you’d like to help, we ask that you consider giving towards our fire recovery fund or our general fund. You may give here.
Do you need hand tools for woodworking, metal working and/or gardening? Maybe we could do a shower to get whatever you need in those areas. Guess Family Camp and Women’s Craft Camp are not feasible this year. Glad you are back on line. God bless and keep you all safe and well.