Originally Posted By Gershon
I'm not an expert on the answer which is why I'm asking, but I've been studying the topic the last few days as we have a big fire in Colorado now.

I've set the following guidelines for myself.

1. I won't go within 50 miles of a known fire. The second day often spreads breathtakingly fast and there is little information.

2. I won't hike or backpack into any dead end trails that don't have an alternate way out or a safe area. I define a safe area as a mountain lake above the treeline.

3. If I can see the plume of smoke, I'll start making my way to safety even if I have to hike further than I planned that day.

4. If I can see or smell smoke even from a large distant fire, I'll only hike in a few miles for an overnight trip. This comes from my experience with the Hayman fire which was 100 miles or so away. Breathing was uncomfortable when conditions were just right.

Thoughts?


I've been watching the growth of the Springer and High Park fires in Colorado. The scary escape stories come mostly from people who seemingly waited too long. A few come from those who were near the starting point. I've refined the criteria a little. They are meant to be very conservative as I know little about forest fires.

I haven't found any instances of fires spreading long distances in the first 24 hours. This gives a long window of opportunity to escape, but only if one takes it. On the second day, the furthest I've read of a forest fire spreading is 19 miles. This was under optimum conditions.

I've read that if a fire is making a defined column of smoke, it is burning especially hot. It's hard to gauge the distance of a column of smoke as terrain often hides things. If it's in the same drainage or one over, it's a serious situation. I've seen videos of fires also spreading rapidly downhill.

The other night, we got brown clouds of smoke from the Springer fire. It was just turning dark when I saw them. It's about 80 miles away so there is no danger here. My point is I couldn't tell if the source was 10 miles away or further.

Before going out, I've learned a call to the Forest Service is always a good idea. Not just for fires, but for other hazards. This year some trails were not recommended due to a very large number of blowdown's along the trail.

I put forest fires in the same risk category as a bear coming into the camp. It's not something I worry a lot about. Having a plan before it happens makes everything a lot less stressful.