Rising From The Ashes: Sugarite Canyon State Park
2011 Track Fire Attempts To Smother The Spirit Of Raton Residents And Cherished State Park Only To Find Out That It Could Not Be Done
Nestled in the Southern reaches of the Rocky Mountains on the border of Colorado and New Mexico lies Sugarite Canyon State Park. The park not only focuses on the natural resources of the canyon, but preserves and retells the history of Sugarite, a community built around the coal mines in the area. Unfortunately, on June 13, 2011 the park was ravaged by the Track Fire. Six years have passed since the destructive fire, and park staff are still working to restore their beloved park.
“We were doing our normal daily duties and the campgrounds were full, when we noticed a significant amount of smoke north of town”, recalls Park Superintendent Robert “Mac” McIvor. “That afternoon, we found out that the fire had crossed the interstate and we decided to go ahead and evacuate the park. We started with Soda Pocket campground and worked our way up to Lake Maloya and Lake Alice, just trying to get everyone out in an orderly manner. Our main concern was safety”, Mac explained. Mac lives in the park and he and his family were ordered to evacuate along with the visitors. “I just had to run and get our stuff out in amongst getting the visitors to safety. They put us up in a hotel in town that night, but there was a lot of uncertainty.”
Mac recalled watching the fire advancing into the park. “The next morning you could see the fire creeping over the ridge and making its way into the park. Initially it was just creeping and smoldering, but around 1:30 pm we had gone back to the Visitor Center, and the winds picked up. You could see the one spot where the fire was coming into the canyon over the ridge and it just picked up speed and intensity. The fire blew up and got from the top of the ridge down into the campground in a matter of minutes. You could actually feel the heat from the fire going through and we were about a mile and a half away.”
Even with State Forestry and the City of Raton battling the flames, when the wind picked up and the fire decided to make its move, there was nothing that fire crews could do, but watch. Mac recalled assessing the damage, “Soda Pocket Campground was hit hard along with Lake Alice. The park looked like a moonscape, everything was still smoldering. Through the campgrounds and day use areas, everything was black and scorched.” The park lost their popular group shelter, water system and several campsites. Luckily the flames did not reach the historic remnants of the coal camp.
State parks has since completely refurbished the Soda Pocket campground adding new wider RV sites along with new restroom facilities and new shelters. “State Parks did a great job putting in a lot of time and money to rehabilitate Soda Pocket”, claims Mac. While they haven’t yet rebuilt the group shelter, there are plans to construct a new group area and sites with corrals for horses.
Aside from the property damage, the fire took a toll on the wildlife of the park. “You would find turkeys standing in the roadway and the hens had scorched feathers, some still smoking. They were hit hard because they were still on the nest at the time and wild turkeys, when they are on the nest, they won’t move unless you step on them”, Mac stated. “A day or so after the fire went through, another ranger and the local game warden found a bear that was trying to walk on its knees because its pads on its feet were scorched from climbing a tree when the fire went through. Sadly, they had to put the bear down.”
One of the main concerns with the fire, especially with the City of Raton, was that Lake Maloya, while a popular fishing lake, also serves as the drinking water supply for the City. “The City really did an excellent job coordinating with other agencies and jumping right in on this. They immediately built sediment ponds and worked on stabilization of soils. I think they really saved Lake Maloya just by moving quickly and addressing the issue right after the fire.”, Mac said.
Pat Walsh, interpretive ranger for the park credits the native vegetation for the swift recovery, “Really in my eyes, the locusts and the oaks were the real heroes. While park staff and volunteers worked to replant ponderosas and firs, the shrubs regrew from the roots that were left and did a great job preventing erosion.”
It has been six years since the Track Fire went through Sugarite Canyon and the scars can still be seen but restoration efforts continue. “The Friends of Sugarite, a volunteer group, are working to purchase several ponderosas between one to five feet tall for planting in Soda Pocket. The fire hit hard in that area and there’s no ponderosa left. In the summer with all the locusts and oak, the park looks pretty lush. There are still some of the burned ponderosa sticking up, but they are slowly rotting and the winds knock them over every once in a while. With the falling trees there is still a lot of trail maintenance to do”, Mac stated. “It’s an ongoing process.”
Although bathed in fire, Sugarite has risen from its ashes to show the staying and recuperating power of our natural resources and stewards of the cause like Mac and Pat.
Jared Langenegger
A graduate of New Mexico State University with B.S. in wildlife and fisheries biology, Jared spent 15 years working in fisheries and parks management. He enjoys camping, fishing, hunting, painting, and wood working.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Sugarite Canyon State Park, which is home to an abundance of wildlife and wildflowers among the lakes, creeks, forests, and meadows. Nearly all outdoor recreation activities are possible: such as camping, boating, hiking and much more.