Man Whose Home Burned Still Has Concerns After Fire Report's Release
CONIFER, Colo. (CBS4) - Jefferson County resident Coe Myer's home was one of 27 that burned to the ground during the Lower North Fork Fire.
The home is now a pile of ashes and rubble, the result of a fire that started as a prescribed burn that took place several days earlier. And Myer is still angry about what happened.
"I'm not a forester, I'm a Cub Scout, but even a Cub Scout would know it was too dry for a fire up there," Myer said.
According to a 159 page report released by Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday reviewing the procedures that were followed for the burn, it was an extreme weather event that would have been very difficult to predict that led to the controlled burn turning into the tragic Lower North Fork Fire. Three people were killed when the wildfire spread quickly on March 26 across a 6 square mile area.
Forest officials who authored the review and say that until that wind event, things went mostly as planned with the controlled burn near Conifer. The report does indicates crews underestimated the leftover fuel at the burn site, but it says weather forecasts actually showed favorable conditions for the burn.
But for Myer, the fact that any burn took place, no matter how well executed was irresponsible when things were so dry.
"It's like the operation was successful but the patient died at this point," said Myer, referring to the report's analysis of the controlled burn. "I don't believe that operation should have ever been undertaken."
Hickenlooper is ordering more reviews in hopes that a situation similar to what happened with the Lower North Fork Fire might be prevented in the future.
"If it was the governor's home, would this thing be any different? I don't know," Myer said.
RELATED: Report On Lower North Fork Fire Shows There Was More Fuel Than Expected
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