STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Dan Drackett gestured through the outdoor pavilion outside his home towards the fence beyond.
“The Beaver Creek Fire came within 20 feet of our bedroom—it burned the fence that was there. Yet look at all that green on the hillside today. Tonight’s about celebrating what’s been done and thanking people—from the firemen who saved our home to the insurance agents who helped us restore our land. And it’s a chance to tell people what needs to be done.”
Nearly two years after the Beaver Creek Fire torched Greenhorn Gulch and ravaged nearby Deer Creek, Croy Creek and the Baker Creek area, 230 people flocked to Dan and Martine Drackett’s home in Greenhorn Gulch Friday night for a thanksgiving celebration organized by the 5B Restoration Coalition.
They sipped wine, nibbled on bacon and Parmesan cheese appetizers and indulged in hamburgers served up by Cristina’s as they gave thanks that the Drackett’s home, wine cellar and art studio--made of wood from trees that were growing during Columbus’ time--still stood amidst a bouquet of lush flowers.
Harry Huffaker told Jenny Busdon how he saw the white smoke and the black smoke near his Greenhorn Gulch home and thought he would never see his home again.
“It’s nice to have this celebration,” added Barbara Kline. “And doesn’t it look beautiful?! We’ve got weeds. But we always have weeds.”
Many of those attending the party—hosted by the Dracketts, Deer Creek residents Ted Waddell and Lynn Campion-Waddell and the National Forest Foundation--represented groups that have been involved in restoration efforts.
Other guests, such as Gray Ottley and Ashley Yagla, were members of the Ketchum Fire Department, which provided protection for homes in Greenhorn Gulch during the conflaguration. Jannah Esbenshade, in contrast, is a member of the Nevada Conservation Corps, which just arrived in town to repair the Two Dog mountain bike trail in Croy Canyon.
“We’d have to cook our own dinner if we didn’t have this. So this is pretty cool,” said Esbenshade.
Bill Possiel told guests that the National Forest Foundation, which inspired the 5B Restoration Coalition, will match private donations given to the 5B Restoration Fund up to $100,000. This is in addition to $60,000 that was given earlier.
The money will be used locally in the places you care so much about, he told those gathered in the pavilion.
“We’re focused on bringing organizations together and supporting community-based organizations working with the Forest Service, he said: “The Forest Service plays a critical role but the community plays an even more important role. These public lands belong to each and every one of us and we sometimes lose track of that.”
Possiel noted that there are 33,000 Forest Service employees throughout the nation. Ketchum Ranger District’s Kurt Nelson is special, he added, because he’s been committed to this community for more than two decades, eschewing the Forest Service’s practice of moving up by moving around.
Nelson told the audience how his staff had to corral 2,000 sheep during the Greenhorn fire so they didn’t have “flaming wool balls” running around.
“We have been on quite a journey. It’s hard to imagine as we look around that we had wall to wall flames here two years ago,” he said. “Everybody pulled together and that’s what community is.”
Nelson said he had never had a big fire until the 2007 Castle Rock Fire. Then the Beaver Creek erupted in 2013, costing $26 million to fight. So far, just $3 million have been allotted to restoration.
“It’s like when you have a huge party. Who’s going to clean up the mess?” he said. “Fortunately, we have a fantastic staff and the BLM has been right in there with us. We’ve had 1,500 hours of volunteer time. And we’re focusing this year on Deer Creek.”
Harry Griffith, who heads up Sun Valley Economic Development, told audience members that retailers lost $40 million during the Beaver Creek Fire and real estate agents lost closures. Valley residents drove to Twin Falls or Boise and spent money they hadn’t planned spending on hotels.
The area has lost visitors who don’t want to risk smoky conditions, he added.
“It’s important to think about the future, about becoming more resilient,” he said. “Think about what you can do. Pick up a shovel. Write a check. Get involved with this effort to help make our communities and lands more resilient to better withstand these types of events in the future.”
Learn more about the 5B Restoration Committee
The 5B Restoration Committee came together in 2014 to identify ways it can restore lands ravaged by fire and minimize the risk of fire in the future.
To learn more about the coalition, go to Eye on Sun Valley’s Archives and check out the Nov. 30 story, “New group seeks to heal land, mitigate future fires.”