As someone who lived all of my life until Jan of 2011 with fire as a regular part of my life, I have been amazed at the lack of concern about fire in Colorado. Personal fireworks and open burning are allowed almost everywhere, and few houses in the red zones have strong mitigation zones around them. Sadly, the lessons that CA has begun to implement were largely not learned in tim here in CO.

Firstly, my sympathies go out to those who have lost their houses in any of the recent fires (Left Hand Canyon, High Park, Waldo Canyon and others). And even more to the families of those who have died. Mercifully, only one person has died in the Waldo Canyon fire, so far. With as many folks evacuated, it’s a wonder that there weren’t more injuries.

But when the TV reporters and later city officials said that they had never seen anything like the march of the Waldo Canyon Fire on Tuesday, they may not have seen it, but folks in CA had. In 2003 and 2007, I watched similar firestorms burn hundreds of homes. Homes on the edge of the wilderness with shake shingle roofs and no mitigation from the trees and brush. I’ve seen the pattern of multiple burned out homes with two or three houses still standing. I’ve heard the same complaints about lack of information, wanting to go back and fight the fire yourself, or where were the planes (or trucks, or firefighters, or whatever). I’ve heard the “You never expect it to happen to you,” from people who only took a couple of things and expected to go home. I expect to hear the complaints about the insurance companies begin soon. And then the calls of “I’ll rebuild no matter what”, and “you can’t make me cut back the trees, I want to live in the forrest.”

It’s all so stupidly, hauntingly, repetitive. The idea that we have the power to stop fire driven by the wind is foolish. Our only avenue is to be prepared, and that means learning from mistakes that have already been made. If I ever have to evacuate for any reason, I know where to go to get what I need. Chances are I’ll’ never need to, but being ready is the only thing we can control.

Of all the things I left in California, fires like these are one I wouldn’t mind having left behind permanently.