Wolverine Fire Intro + BAER Report Released

Photo by Chuck Hoffman © Genesis+Art

Holden Village, Washington  

Wolverine Creek Fire, 2015

In 2015, the Wolverine Creek Fire forced temporary evacuation of Holden Village. While the Village was saved, the fire burned vast portions of the surrounding forest. The following is the narrative of the fire’s spread and human response, as we posted in real time. We had just taken on the responsibility as Holden Village’s Executive Directors and found the fire to be our first of many extraordinary wilderness experiences while living in the remote village in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.

The US Forest Service has finally issued the BAER report (Burned Area Emergency Response) for the Wolverine Fire. If this is your first BAER Report, as it was ours, know that it is the duty of the Forest Service to bring any and all possible risks to light.

First and foremost, there is nothing in the report of which we were not aware. We have been working with the Forest Service and Rio Tinto on increased safety precautions and early warnings. Secondly, we have purposely established a smaller resident community for this fall and winter, members of which understand the risks and can be flexible. We will carefully watch and be with Holden in its first winter since the fire.

Now is the time for listening and learning. This year, the forest will tell us many things. It will share its weaknesses and its strengths. We will learn where the new avalanche chutes are and how the valley responds to the weather. We will learn how to live as a community with the forest in its new post-fire form.

When we have guests this year — yes, we will have guests in 2016 — there will be orientations and things to learn about Holden that you will have not experienced. We will have J-Term and Spring Work Weeks and a guest season this coming summer. No one will skip the 2:00 orientation! There is much to learn, about both the mine remediation and the fire, all of it new and fascinating. We look forward to all that is to come.

With good courage, Peg + Chuck

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