DENVER — With two massive wildfires raging in the state, it's all authorities can do to keep them from burning down vast subdivisions.
The real difficulties come when they have to make the daily decisions that determine which fire gets more fire crews and support. Why are some fires swarmed with help and others allowed to burn?
Why does the Hayman fire, burning across four counties south of Denver, have three times the number of firefighters as the Missionary Ridge blaze near Durango, the nation's priority fire on Tuesday?
Fire officers at Durango report that residents are confused and angry, wondering whether the implication is that their homes are not worth saving like those in the wealthy subdivisions on Denver's southern flank.
"I know people think that, but once you understand the two fires, it's not difficult to understand," said Mary Bell Lunsford, on the Durango fire management team. Lunsford said the Missionary Ridge fire is so dangerous that even if she had more crews, it wouldn't be safe to use them.
In the hectic business of fighting wildfires, it may appear that fires near urban areas or in states with political clout, such as California, receive more support, but officials say they carefully allocate resources where they are needed, not just where they are noticed. They prioritize fires according to threat to human life, communities and natural resources such as endangered species.
At 6 p.m. every day across the country, fire commanders prepare a chilling inventory of each wildfire's destruction: Homes damaged, subdivisions threatened, residents evacuated.
By morning, at a 10 a.m. meeting, regional fire managers convene to scan the reports and set the day's priorities, moving air tankers and fire crews like pieces on a flaming chessboard.
By midday, those working smaller, rural or remote fires gripe that their request is overlooked, passed over in favor of a higher priority fire in a more glamorous or populous area.
"There's more to it than 'Hey you guys, send me more stuff!' " said Lynn Young of the U.S. Forest Service. "Each day the incident commanders predict the worst-case scenario on their fire. And each incident commander would like to have everything he can get. There's only so much to go around."
Colorado's two major fires flared Tuesday. High temperatures and high winds whipped the southern end of the Hayman fire, which has grown to 115,000 acres. The northern end of the fire is as close as 25 miles to Denver.
