The San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado has been hit hard by the 416 Fire in recent weeks.  So far it has claimed over 30,000 acres near in and around the town of Hermosa, CO which is near Durango, CO.

Amazingly, even though over 1,000 homes were evacuated,  no structures have been lost due to the hard work and heroic efforts by the firefighters and first responders.  Then God helped out in a big way by sending us the perfect rainstorm, a remnant of Hurricane Bud, which made a rare appearance to our area just in time to help squelch the fire.  We hardly ever get  rain in June which was a real answer to prayers.

Before the rains came, all public lands were closed off to the public including the San Juan National Forest which includes the famed Ice Lakes Basin among many other beautiful hiking destinations. Due the perfect steady rain for two days and the fact that it was the perfect amount, not too much to flood the burned scared slopes, but just enough  to significantly diminish the fire and help out with our severe drought we are going through, all public land is now open!  

I quickly took advantage of the reopening which came way earlier than expected and found that the wildflowers were already in full bloom in the alpine despite the drought conditions.  

The San Juan National Forest and surrounding area including Durango, CO and Silverton, CO are completely open for all to enjoy…

Here’s a link to the fire column that hit Hermosa, CO –

416 Fire video link to fire column Hermosa, CO