congrats to 1olivia2 for FTF!
The Little Bear Fire wildfire in New Mexico burned 44,330 acres and 254 buildings, making it the most destructive of human structures wildfire in the state's history. The previously most destructive fire was the Cerro Grande Fire. The fire began on June 4, 2012 from a lightning strike and quickly grew out of control due to dry, windy conditions.
This area of Alto was hard hit by this fire and when you look toward Sierra Blanca and Nogal you can see the devastating effects of this event. Continue your drive toward Nogal or Bonito and it is more evident. So many were evacuated and did not know what they would return to after evacuation orders were lifted.
Personally we were impacted in that we had to evacuate my dad from the upper canyon and the J's job was impacted because the Flying J Chuckwagon was closed and almost burned. We lost cell phone service and internet for a little while, people were gathering at local restuarants trying to glean any information. Family members that lived outside of Ruidoso were struggling to reach family members unsure of the well being. It was a scary time for our community.
Cache: learning to appreciate GRC- thanks to Frog Dog and Corker - cache container is also inspired by CITO and several caches that we have found in Roswell