Re: C&TS runs despite fire danger

Thanks, John, for the report. It seems popular these days to blame the "ignition source" (whatever it is) when a serious forest fire erupts. Unfortunately, that ignores the fact that many of our western forests, thanks to a hundred years of fire suppression and about a quarter century+ of "suppressed" logging, have a huge buildup of potential fuel ripe for ignition into a major conflagration during the next dry spell. Ironically, the higher areas around Cumbres are probably less likely to burn thanks to the 1879 fire that "opened up" much of the higher areas around the pass.
Fortunately (for the C&TS, at least), I think the most fire-prone area close to the railroad is the north-facing slope across the Rio de Los Pinos between Sublette and Rock Tunnel. There's a lot of insect-killed timber in there that's ripe to burn. It would be very difficult for a C&TS train to light that up, but dry lightning sure could do it under the right conditions. At least the railroad couldn't be blamed for that. A fire there would almost certainly lead to a train shutdown due to safety concerns.
A forester friend of mine summed it all up the other day: "You can either have logging, a controlled burn, or an uncontrolled burn. Your choice. If you don't do either the first or second, the third is eventually inevitable. That's nature."