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Missionary Ridge Fire Photo Gallery
La Plata County, Colorado
Click pictures for larger versions
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Bayfield, CO, July 4, 2002 -- A home on the western shore of Vallecito
Lake, destroyed by the Missionary Ridge fire.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Bayfield, CO, July 4, 2002 -- A home on the western shore of Vallecito
Lake, destroyed by the Missionary Ridge fire. The propane tank did
not explode.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Bayfield, CO, July 4, 2002 -- During the evacuation of the Vallecito
Lake resort community, this van was one of several
vehicles parked on the dry bed of Vallecito Lake to protect it.
Unexpectedly, a huge firewhirl (a tornado of fire) came out
of the wooded area in the background. It destroyed most of the vehicles
and blew wreckage to the other side of the lake.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Vallecito Lake, Colorado, July 4, 2002 -- During the Missionary
Ridge fire on June 17, a firestorm roared out of the west bank of
Vallecito Lake near this burned tree. It was so large that it destroyed
the line of vehicles parked in the distance on the dry lake bed
for safety. Pieces of wreckage as large as ten feet were blown all
the way to the other side of the lake.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Vallecito Lake, CO, July 4, 2002 -- A melted rowboat lies abandoned
beside the shores of Vallecito Lake after the Missionary Ridge fire
passed through the popular resort area.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Vallecito Lake, CO, July 5, 2002 -- Mud drips from its intake siphon
as an S-64 Skycrane helicopter takes on 2,000 gallons of water in
45 seconds and flies out to drown hot spots in the Missionary Ridge
fire.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Vallecito Lake, CO, July 5, 2002 -- Mud drips from its intake siphon
as an S-64 Skycrane helicopter takes off with a load of water to
douse hot spots in the Missionary Ridge fire. This Type 1 helicopter
can lift 10 tons of payload at sea level.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Bayfield, CO, July 6, 2002 -- A Boeing Vertol 107 lifts off from
the helibase near Bayfield, Colorado with a 1300-gallon water bucket
to drown hotspots on the Missionary Ridge fire.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Bayfield, CO, July 5, 2002 -- Richard Goodwin, lead crewman of
Tahoe Helitack, Tahoe National Forest, California, records weights
and manifests of supplies to be airlifted to firefighters spending
the night in the mountains northeast of Durango. Behind him is crewman
Ernie Walley from Mississippi.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Bayfield, CO, July 5, 2002 -- Anthony Page, a US Forest Service
forester from Winnfield, Louisiana, signals the pilot of a helicopter
for his next sling load. The supplies are going to firefighting
crews which are staying overnight in the mountains on the eastern
flank of the Missionary Ridge fire northeast of Durango, Colorado.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Bayfield, CO, July 5, 2002 -- A load of water and supplies is airlifted
to the four divisions of firefighters spending the night in the
mountains northeast of Durango during the Missionary Ridge fire.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Durango, CO, July 5, 2002 -- The town of Durango hosted a huge
party for the firefighters at the Incident Command Post in the county
fairgrounds. The main events were live bluegrass music, dancing
and ice cream.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Durango, CO, July 5, 2002 -- The ice cream social hosted by the
city of Durango for the firefighters was a great opportunity for
local residents to meet the fire crews.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg/FEMA
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Durango, CO, July 5, 2002 -- The town of Durango hosted a huge
party for the firefighters at the Incident Command Post in the county
fairgrounds. While their parents enjoyed the live bluegrass music
and ice cream, these young visitors tried out a fire truck's PA
system.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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Durango, CO, July 5, 2002 -- The town of Durango hosted a huge
party for the firefighters at the Incident Command Post in the county
fairgrounds. Here a town resident thanks members of Pennsylvania
Fire Crew Number Two.
Photo: Bryan Dahlberg/FEMA
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Firefighter Poster
Throughout the firefighting efforts at the Missionary Ridge and
Valley fires in the Durango area, the residents of the town expressed
their gratitude to the firefighters with signs everywhere: in shop
windows, on cars and trucks, on fences, in yards and on motel signs.
(The creator of the orange sign at bottom even added a black mourning
ribbon after firefighter Alan Wyatt was killed on the job.)
A selection of these signs has been assembled into a poster, which
is available for you to download and print out. Click on appropriate
links below.
Photography and design: Bryan Dahlberg / FEMA
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