Burning more than 6,500 acres as of Tuesday, Oct. 8, the Decker Fire in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness saw SLV REC member Clint Brown sharing water with the firefighters.

Brown’s three-acre pond on Lone Tree Ranch near the burn area was offered to firefighters battling the blaze, which they took advantage of over the weekend.

Brown guessed the Type 1 Chinook helicopter had pick-ed up approximately 200,000 gallons to help tame the wildfire.
When the lightning struck igniting the fire on Sept. 8, two miles south of Salida and into Saguache County, Brown made a point to let firefighters know the pond was available as a resource if they needed to dip into it. With a much quicker turn-around time (5-7 vs. 15-20 minutes), Brown knew the pond could come in clutch. “A longer turn-around time gives the fire time to blow back up. Before they get back with more water, it can really blow up,” Brown explained.

“The firefighters greatly appreciated being able to get a lot of water into the area quickly,” Brown said. “They worked so hard to contain the fire off of not only the BLM, but local ranches and cabins as well. They’ve worked really hard; we want to help them— as a community, we want to help them.”

As fire personnel continue to fight the flames, the San Luis Valley REC and our members are grateful to them and friends like Clint for making a difference in our communities