Wildfire: Maverick Mountain

Reports say that the base lodge wasn't destroyed. Scroll down for discussion/speculation about the new Frankenstein lift, how many years it might take to start up again, insurance, etc. I wonder if any recovery lessons can be taken from Sierra at Tahoe?
 
The latest photo I've seen appears to show much less devastation that I expected, although it is a hard to see all the details of what actually burned. Of course, the loss of the chairlift is the biggy.


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The mountain’s only chairlift sustained extensive damage and will likely be out of operation for the upcoming ski season. The structures with the most damage were the bull wheel shack and ski patrol shack, according to JC Knaub, owner Kristi Borge’s father stated in an interview.

“It was a miracle that anything survived,” Knaub said. “The terrain will not be quite the same but we will embrace new turns,” Borge wrote on Facebook, adding that the owners are committed to rebuilding.
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Sorry if I'm being dense -- in the pic above I can see where the fire reached the bullwheel and patrol shacks; however, the bolded quote makes it sound as if half of the trees in the lift-served terrain burned down.

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I would agree that the pic doesn't look too burnt, but Watch Duty and others show the fire having burned much of the footprint. I believe those maps use heat sensing aircraft to generate the edges of wildfires.

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As one with extensive hiking experience in burn areas…..there’s a gradation in effects.
1) Fires can be patchy and some trees survive unscathed.
2) Some trees get scorched and may die but the leaves remain but turned brown.
3) In Altadena some trees were covered in soot but from a distance you could only see that they looked a bit darker than normal.
4) More intense fires leave charred skeletons.
5) only the most intense burn wide areas to the ground leaving only ash. The 2009 Station Fire had the most extensive total burn area like that which I have seen.
 
EMSC said:
I would agree that the pic doesn't look too burnt, but Watch Duty and others show the fire having burned much of the footprint. I believe those maps use heat sensing aircraft to generate the edges of wildfires.
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Interesting

Tony Crocker said:
As one with extensive hiking experience in burn areas…..there’s a gradation in effects.
1) Fires can be patchy and some trees survive unscathed.
2) Some trees get scorched and may die but the leaves remain but turned brown.
3) In Altadena some trees were covered in soot but from a distance you could only see that they looked a bit darker than normal.
4) More intense fires leave charred skeletons.
5) only the most intense burn wide areas to the ground leaving only ash. The 2009 Station Fire had the most extensive total burn area like that which I have seen.
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Can you tell which of the five levels from that pic above? As someone without extensive hiking experience in burn areas, it looks closer to #1.

A shame as Tony's 2021 report made it look worth a day, especially for the cattle-country ambiance and affordable lift tix (they'd since increased to $54, but still a relative deal in today's U.S. ski world). I always wonder about the fiscal, geographic, and demographic calculus involved that determines whether a community ski area decides to join Indy Pass or not.
 
The pics show no indication of stages 4-5 IMHO. But Mt. High didn’t either yet the Bridge Fire damaged that top beginner lift at East and surely contributed to the destructive mudslides a year later.
 
They removed many of the trees from Sierra-at-Tahoe that remained standing but might be problematic from an insurance standpoint.

Almost any tree in a Watch Duty-type photo for the Caldor Fire was removed - or a very high percentage.

jamesdeluxe said:
A shame as Tony's 2021 report made it look worth a day, especially for the cattle-country ambiance and affordable lift tix
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You need to get out to the West Coast sooner rather than later, because a lot of the small indie ski areas are now suffering more frequent fire episodes. :cry:
 
I see lots of stage 2-4 trees on my SoCal hikes but they may be unsafe to leave standing within a ski area. Stage 4 is very good for powder skiing, have seen some of that cat skiing in Canada at K3 and Chatter Creek. There’s a big swath of side country off the east side of Baldy at Sun Valley that I have not skied.
 
ChrisC said:
You need to get out to the West Coast sooner rather than later, because a lot of the small indie ski areas are now suffering more frequent fire episodes.
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Off the top of your head, which ones (other than SoCal and Sierra at Tahoe) have already been affected?
 
jamesdeluxe said:
Off the top of your head, which ones (other than SoCal and Sierra at Tahoe) have already been affected?
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After Eagle Pass and now Maverick, I have already reviewed wildfires affecting the Western US and Canadian ski areas since 2000. It's becoming seemingly more commonplace.

Obviously, I was aware of the Tahoe fires/near-misses, but I also knew Sun Valley, New Mexico, British Columbia, and other California ski resorts had fire issues.

I assume every ski area needs a fire remediation plan by now. Maybe scenarios from fires approaching from different possible or likely directions.


YearSki areaState/ProvinceFireImpactClass
2000Pajarito MountainNMCerro GrandeBurned immediately around Pajarito; major forest impact around ski mountain🟠
2003Mt. Lemmon Ski ValleyAZAspen FireFire reached Ski Valley area; surrounding forest/property burned🔴
2003Sun PeaksBCMcLure/Barrier-area firesMajor wildfire approached Sun Peaks; resort escaped damage within recreational boundary🟠
2007Trinity Mountain / Green ValleyCASlide FireBurned through ski area; chairlift destroyed; resort never reopened🔴🔴
2007Sun Valley – Bald MountainIDCastle RockBurned to north/west ski-area boundary; ~50 yards from Seattle Ridge Lodge; snowmaking used for defense🟠
2011Pajarito MountainNMLas ConchasFire entered ski area; runs burned and two lifts damaged🔴
2012Ski ApacheNMLittle BearDirect hit; three lifts damaged and structures lost🔴🔴
2012Mission RidgeWAWenatchee firesFire approached resort; snowmaking system deployed extensively for structure protection🟠
2012Apex MountainBCRegional fire activityFire activity close to resort area🟠
2013Sun Valley – Bald MountainIDBeaver CreekFire burned to southern boundary; huge firefighting operation protected Bald Mountain🟠
2013Wolf CreekCOWest Fork ComplexWindy Pass Fire burned very near Wolf Creek Pass/ski-area terrain🟠
2017Brian HeadUTBrian Head FireMajor wildfire started near resort community; evacuation and substantial structure-protection effort🟠
2020China PeakCACreek FireEntered resort; forest/property and employee housing burned; avalanche explosives detonated🔴
2020Mt. Hood MeadowsORHeather Canyon FireSmall wildfire inside controlled Heather Canyon ski terrain🔴
2021Sierra-at-TahoeCACaldorAbout 1,600 of 2,000 acres affected; lift/equipment/building damage; entire season lost🔴🔴
2021HeavenlyCA/NVCaldorFire advanced toward South Lake Tahoe/Heavenly; major defensive preparations🟠
2021KirkwoodCACaldorCaldor approached Highway 88/Kirkwood area; major wildfire threat and defense🟠
2021Sun PeaksBCEmbleton MountainFire burned within a few kilometres of the resort/community🟠
2022Apex MountainBCKeremeos CreekVery significant near miss; resort village evacuated, extensive structural protection and snowgun deployment🟠🟠
2022Manning Park ResortBCHeather LakeMajor fire burned through Manning Provincial Park and threatened resort/Highway 3 corridor🟠
2022Arizona SnowbowlAZPipeline FireFire burned across San Francisco Peaks landscape; Snowbowl included in evacuation/closure activity🟠
2024Mountain HighCABridge FireFire burned through East/West resort terrain; some losses, but major lifts/lodges survived🔴
2024Mt. BaldyCABridge FireFire threatened Mt. Baldy resort/community and forced evacuation🟠
2024Snow ValleyCALine FireFire approached the San Bernardino ski-resort corridor; evacuation/defensive operations🟠
2024Mt. Rose / Sky TavernNVDavis FireFire reached Mt. Rose Highway corridor, triggering evacuations and significant ski-area concern🟠
2026Eagle PointUTCottonwood~300/600 skiable acres affected, buildings destroyed and 4 of 5 lifts damaged🔴🔴
2026Maverick MountainMTSand CreekFire burned across ski mountain; significant lift/patrol infrastructure damage reported🔴🔴
2026Mt. Hood MeadowsORGrasshopperFire approached resort closely; evacuation/closure and major defensive operations🟠
 
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Fires have been around forever. It might be a bit of happenstance that so many Western ski resorts have been impacted recently.


Supposedly, Vail's Back Bowls are simply burns that have never been reforested because of a lack of moisture/evaporation on south-facing terrain? And Snowmass's Big Burn is some of Aspen's signature terrain.

Numerous British Columbia resorts and cat/heli operations feature "burn" terrain - or logged terrain, which can create pillows out of stumps/boulders.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Stage 4 is very good for powder skiing, have seen some of that cat skiing in Canada at K3 and Chatter Creek.
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ChrisC said:
Supposedly, Vail's Back Bowls are simply burns that have never been reforested because of a lack of moisture/evaporation on south-facing terrain?
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Fires burned pretty much the whole south face of Vail mtn way, way back in 1879! And yes S facing takes WAY longer to come back esp at altitude where the sun can just pound on those immature trees and dry out soils where they are making the attempt.
 
The upper half of Lost Trail’s Chair 4, including its well-spaced intermediate trees and almost all of its steeper open terrain, is a result of fires. Of course, those burned several years before the expansion happened.
 
From my personal experience with fires in this region, Type 2-3 in Tony’s classification is very common and what I’d expect from the image, though the fire footprint looks like it only covered about half the ski area so many spots could also be type 1. From afar it’s impossible to tell how many trees might have green needles but actually be dead or dying. In wild, overgrown forests with lots of poorly adapted firs its usually most, but in more actively managed areas it could be fewer.
 
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