by William Alder Lakish

On Tuesday, December 20, at 9:48pm, on the cusp of the longest night of the year, Baca firefighters responded to a chimney fire call in Chalets I. Two fire fighters who were at the station donned structural bunker gear, provided incident information for later-arriving firefighters, and pulled out the initial attack engine. In less than ten minutes CAFS-1 with a crew of three was en-route to the scene with sirens blaring. Minutes later Attack 1 and the 7 Up Truck pulled out with three firefighters in full personal protective equipment.

CAFS-1 and crew arrived fourteen minutes after the 911 page to find a wood frame single story home belching thick gray smoke out of the open garage door, attic vents, and chimney. A Mutual Aid request was radioed to the Northern Saguache Fire Protection District. Crestone and Moffat fire fighters reported to their stations.

Residents of the home said that the chimney fire had ignited the wood framing built around the fireplace insert, and flames were spreading from the void space into a linen closet. Before firefighters arrived, residents tried to slow the fire’s spread with fire extinguishers and pots of water, and to remove flaming fabrics from the linen closet. They were unable to find the pet cat.

Firefighters encouraged residents not to inhale the intensifying smoke. Most structure fire fatalities occur from inhalation of toxic smoke and gases.

Following size-up protocols, propane was immediately turned off and electric breaker panels identified by Incident Commander Ivan Lakish. Simultaneously, Chief Ben Brack donned Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (Scuba diving gear for firefighters) in order to safely enter the house to extinguish the belching fireplace, locate the cat, and determine the extent of the fire. Brack used a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) to scan through the smoke to locate flames and hot spots. Other Baca crewmembers charged pumps, dragged hoses and set two ladders to access the attic crawl space.

Chief Brack quickly removed the fuel from the fireplace, then attempted to starve the fire of oxygen by utilizing a Chimfex flare. Unfortunately, the fire had already extended outside of the chimney and firebox into the wood framing around the fireplace insert. Tongues of fire extended inside the wall, engulfing the closet. A sheet of flames surged across the ceiling.

Brack ordered an immediate water assault into the void space using an inch and a half attack hose to knock down the advancing flames and extinguish the remaining heat in the stove’s firebox. In an effort to protect the structure from extensive water damage, a precise application of water was made with an 8’ piercing nozzle that was rammed through the drywall ceiling to confront the fire from above.

A Saguache County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived on scene to assist fire fighters and the residents while Crestone and Moffat fire fighters “stood by” in case the fire extended beyond initial attack capabilities.

The flames were extinguished using less than 200 gallons of water. Amid thick smoke and steam, Chief Brack and Assistant Chief Chris Botz manually removed smoldering insulation and debris from the void space and linen closet. Baca volunteers removed embers from the ceiling and interior of the framed walls where the flames had traveled. Other volunteers worked to ventilate smoke, extinguish hot spots, and prevent hoses from freezing in the 13° weather.

The cat was found, safe and sound.

Mutual aid resources were stood down, and the house was ventilated. No one was hurt. Damages were contained to the fireplace framing and the linen closet and contents. Some residual smoke damage occurred close to the fire.

The fire was declared fully extinguished at approximately 1:10am. Utilities were turned back on to the house and lightly frozen hoses were rolled and equipment repacked. Following a final check for heat, trucks and crew returned to the firehouse to undertake post incident readiness procedures. All trucks, gear and equipment were cleaned and readied for reuse, ensuring that equipment is fully operational for subsequent events.

The six local volunteers who extinguished the blaze convened for an after-action review de-briefing that focused on what went well, and what could be improved in future operations. Due to the fast response time, good teamwork, and effective use of prior training, the team considered the operation a success. Had these elements not been present, it is likely the fire would have extended into the space between the ceiling and the roof causing a much larger fire with much more extensive damage.

All volunteers were released from the incident and retired to their respective residences at approximately 2am. Due to the smell of smoke, the residents spent the night at a friend’s house. At the time of this writing, the residents were still planning on hosting their annual solstice party at the house, despite the fire’s effects.

by Marty Shellabarger

Valley-born Marty Shellabarger, our county’s veterinarian—ranching 10,000 acres, 1000 acres of hay, with 350 head of cattle—writes this history of water use.

The San Luis Valley, called the world’s most productive alpine valley, boasts less annual precipitation than the Sahara Desert. It’s productive because of two natural reservoirs, our mountain ranges and the rechargeable underground aquifer. Reservoir use—governed by Colorado law, a tri-state legal agreement (NM, TX & CO) plus an international agreement with Mexico—is more practically governed by natural laws, annual precipitation and the long-term balance and sustainability of use verses recharge.

The mountain reservoir, source of surface flows since European settlers arrived in the 1850s, holds six months of precipitation in frozen storage, then releases their accumulated waters over the six-week period beginning our 90-day growing season. This surface runoff, applied as irrigation, produces root crops, small grains, alfalfa and grass—and also recharges the aquifer.

These first settlers found a much different water scenario than today’s. Northern Valley streams drained into San Luis Creek—really an expanse of braided channel marshland extending to the San Luis Lakes and draining out of the Closed Basin into the Rio Grande, east of Alamosa.

Then, wagons couldn’t cross the marshlands from the sand dunes north to Moffat. Settlers from Ft. Garland traveled along the Sangres to cross at Rito Alto Creek, where the marsh narrowed at my great grandfather’s homestead. There, emigrants camped until three yoke of oxen pulled one wagon at a time across the mud to Saguache. Today, your feet stay dry from Hwy 17 to the mountains (unless you step into the Closed Basin Project Canal). Then, springs flowed year-round—natural outlets of the confined aquifer. But San Luis Creek’s been waterless at Grandpa’s homestead for 12 years now.

Then, what wasn‘t wetlands was desert crossed by riparian strips of ephemeral streams. Today, our wetlands are dry and arid lands, dotted with green circles. After Crestone boomed, my great grandpa built an adobe icehouse next to the Moffat-to-Crestone railroad, cutting iceblocks from San Luis Creek, covering them with hay to sell to saloons for next summer’s beer. In those days people used to ice skate from Villa Grove to Hooper, and San Luis Creek carp, big as your leg, became a favorite on the settlers’ menu. Today, I can’t find a frog in June.

Early settlers used the Homestead Act to file for 160 acres of land, and also filed for irrigation water from the streams. Water was appropriated at one cubic foot of water flowing 1-foot per second (1 csf=450 gallons per minute=2 acre-feet every day) per 50 acres. Cultivating more than 100 acres was difficult for a homesteader and a team of horses, so most water decrees back then were for 2 cfs maximum. Stream water diversions were governed by the doctrine of prior appropriation (“First in time, first in right”), and water rights were given a priority number to indicate their seniority. You could take water if all more senior rights were satisfied and water remained in the stream. Since stream runoff occurs during a brief period in the spring, less-senior water rights could divert for only a few days while stream flows were high—inadequate to raise a crop or a decent garden. Homesteaders, after obtaining their land patent in six years, usually sold their land and water right to another homesteader with an earlier right and dollars still in his pocket.

Thus, larger land parcels came about with larger decrees for using a one-time flooding of native grass meadows. The water table, high enough for grass roots, maintained growth into late July. Today, a single flood irrigation won’t raise a crop of hay. Because our northern Valley’s alluvial soils weren’t prime farmland, available water was best used for hay to winter livestock until the summer grasses grew. Cattle and sheep ranching became the major agricultural endeavor here. Farming was established on better soils to the south with longer-lasting river flows delivered via canal systems.

Diverting water from natural flood plains meant more water consumption and evaporation. Perennial San Luis Creek marshlands dried out somewhat, creating more harvestable grass meadows. Once, Saguache County had the highest US workforce percentage producing grass hay, abundantly exported after railroads came in the 1890s. Moffat, the major shipping station for cattle in these parts, had numerous corrals holding thousands of cows. In the silver-boom years just after 1900, Moffat was even a candidate for capitol of Colorado.

Mountain reservoirs maintaining year-round livestock was status quo here for 90 years … until center-pivot sprinkler irrigation in the 1960s utilized our second great reservoir, the aquifers. That—along with large-bore water drilling, new pumps and the electricity to power them—would begin to change everything in our valley.

As posted on http://kenburridge.com/city-of-cleveland-passes-emergency-vote-to-support-ows/2631

the text as follows:

City of Cleveland Passes Emergency Vote to Support OWS

The Cleveland City Council pass an emergency resolution 1720-11 in support of Occupy Cleveland and the Occupy Movement in general. The final vote from all the Wards was 18 yea and 1 nay.

With the passing of the 1720-11 resolution Cleveland’s largest city council joins other cities (Seattle, LA and Chicago etc.) that also have voiced their official support of the Occupy Movement. The following Resolution was sent to President Barack Obama and all members of the U.S. Congress.

Cleveland City Council officially supports the Occupy Movement

Cleveland’s Resolution No. 1720-11

Council Members Cummins, Westbrook,Zone, Cimperman, Cleveland, Mitchell,J. Johnson, Brancatelli, Brady, Polensek, Pruitt, Conwell, K. Johnson, Dow. FOR ADOPTION December 5, 2012

AN EMERGENCY RESOLUTION

Recognizing and supporting the principles of the Occupy Movement and the peaceful and lawful exercise of the First Amendment as a cherished and fundamental right in the effort to seek solutions for economically distressed Americans at the federal,state and local levels; committing to work with the Jackson administration to take steps to minimize economic insecurity and destructive disparities in the City of Cleveland; and requesting our County, State and U.S. elected leaders generate solutions for economically distressed Americans.

WHEREAS, Cleveland community members, like others across the United States, are frustrated by the continuing economic crisis that threatens individual, family, small local business and City finances, and our community’s quality of life, and are participating in Occupy protests to make their voices heard; and

WHEREAS, the economic roots of these protests are varied, including sustained unemployment, growing income disparity, banking system failures, stalled earning power, and unjust tax systems, that all contribute to ongoing wealth disparities; and

WHEREAS, the political roots of these protests are also varied, including the growing political power of corporations, influence of money on elections and public policy and inability of average citizens to have their voices heard and needs met through formal political forums,thus contributing to citizens pursuing alternative political arenas; and

WHEREAS, this prolonged economic downturn has hurt nearly all Americans, in the areas of wealth loss, unemployment, and housing access, it has taken an even greater toll on people of color and women. Women are 29% more likely to be poor than men. The poverty rate for single mother families has increased to 40.7%. Economic gains made by people of color since the Civil Rights Movement have been substantially reduced by the Great Recession; and Caucasian Americans experienced a net wealth loss of 16 percent from 2005 to 2009. African Americans lost about half of their wealth and Latinos lost two-thirds of their wealth in this same period [Ref: Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010]

WHEREAS, more than 25 million Americans are unemployed and seeking work; more than 50 million Americans are living without health insurance; and, more than one in five American children are growing up in households living in poverty without sufficient resources tomeet basic survival needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter
[Ref: unemployed defined as unemployed,marginally attached to the labor force, or working only part-time for economic reasons, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table A-15.Alternative measures of labor underutilization];
and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in its report, a “CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report – United States, 2011″ documents that income inequality in the United States is the highest among advanced industrialized nations, with wide-spread inequities in U.S. health outcomes by income, race, and gender; and

WHEREAS, over the past 30 years, gains in our economy have accrued largely to the top1% of Americans, who now control 43% of the total net wealth, and to the next 19% on the top that control 50% of the wealth in the United States (top 20% controls 93% of wealth with the bottom 80% controlling only 7%) due in part to public policies that can be changed
[Ref:Wealth Income and Power , by G. William Domhoff, UC Santa Cruz, 2011]
; and

WHEREAS, one of the largest problems distressing our economy is the prolonged foreclosure crisis, with many owners struggling to obtain loan adjustments and too many banks continuing the use of flawed review procedures which end up flooding the housing market with foreclosures and result in blighted and de-valued housing stock due to the high number of properties being left vacant and abandoned and poorly maintained; and

WHEREAS, the Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria metropolitan area has been particularly hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis, ranking 27th of 366 metropolitan statistical areas in the rate of foreclosures (8.2%) according to a March, 2011 ranking compiled by an analysis of LPS Applied Analytics Data by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC); and

WHEREAS, the Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria metropolitan areas ranked eighth amongst the nation’s 25 largest metro areas in its percentage of underwater mortgages (41.5%) according to third quarter 2011 data provided by Zillow Real Estate Market reports; and

WHEREAS, local governments are straining under the increasing weight of responsibility to provide for basic support services at a time of declining tax revenues and as a result of budget reductions by the state and federal government; and

WHEREAS, the structural causes of the economic crisis facing our society require decisive and sustained action at the national and state levels. Cities are harmed by the crisis and must play an important role in the development of public policy to address it; and

WHEREAS, this Council commits to working with the Jackson administration to continue taking steps to minimize economic insecurity and destructive disparities in the City by:

1. following the City’s Community Reinvestment Act practices to ensure that public funds are invested in responsible financial institutions that demonstrate strong support for our community. The Council may also consider future legislation to promote responsible banking and provide an incentive for banking institutions to invest more in our City, particularly with regard to stabilizing the housing market and supporting the creation of new businesses. This review should include evaluating City policies on responsible depositing and management of City funds;

2. examining the number of home foreclosures in Cleveland, the geographic neighborhoods in which the foreclosures are occurring, and lender information on homes involved in the foreclosure process, including real estate owned homes; working with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, the City of Cleveland Housing Court, and Case Western Reserve University’s NEOCanDo to gather qualitative data on the circumstances and causes of foreclosures and the foreclosure methods and practices of lenders, including reviewing apparent inequities many people in Cleveland face when lender foreclosure proceedings occur;

3. consulting with advocates of tax reform and experts on equitable taxation and review past tax reform efforts in order to work effectively with the County and State Legislature towarda more equitable tax structure;

4. as federal and state assistance dwindles, continuing to use available resources to provide assistance for the most vulnerable people in Cleveland; and

5. because reforms in education and career preparation are essential for building a viable future and disparities in these areas begin very early in life and often continue through adulthood,seeking maximum possible funding for Early Learning and Basic Education in the State Legislative Agenda; and recognizing the critical importance of supporting community colleges,technical colleges, and state universities as they provide access to retraining and workforce development opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Congress must generate solutions for economically distressed Americans by:

1. Supporting job creation, making substantial investments in the nation’s critical physical and technological infrastructure, and reducing the deficit by adopting fiscal policies with equitable corporate and individual taxation and by allowing the 2010 extension of President Bush’s tax cuts to expire in 2012 as the law currently requires;

2. Tightening regulation of the banking and financial sector, including adoption of new rules and vigorous investigation and prosecution of individuals and corporations that violate the fraud, theft, and securities laws; and

3. Retaining or increasing community-building block grants for local schools and social services and protect public education from devastating cuts and prevent tuition levels that block fair access to higher education; and

WHEREAS, this Council does not condone actions that infringe upon the lawful rights of others, obstruct or interfere with the efforts of law enforcement officers to protect such rights, or cause personal injury or property destruction; and

WHEREAS, Americans can and must resolve the divisive economic and social realitiesfacing our nation in a peaceful way that honors our commitment to democracy, equality and justice; and

WHEREAS, this resolution constitutes an emergency measure for the immediate preservation of public peace, property, health, or safety, now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND:

Section 1. That this Council recognizes and supports the principles of the Occupy Movement and the peaceful and lawful exercise of the First Amendment as a cherished and fundamental right in the effort to seek solutions for economically distressed Americans at the federal, state and local levels.

Section 2. That this Council commits to working with the Jackson administration to continue taking steps to minimize economic insecurity and destructive disparities in the City of Cleveland.

Section 3.
That this Council requests our Congressional leaders generate solutions for economically distressed Americans.

Section 4.
That the Clerk of Council is directed to transmit copies of this resolution to President Barack Obama and all members of the U.S. Congress.

Section 5.
That this resolution is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and, provided it receives the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to Council, it shall take effect and be in force immediately upon its adoption and approval by the Mayor; otherwise, it shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.

BC:rns12/5/11
SLF ®12/5/2011 6:17 PM

by Matie Belle Lakish

SolarReserve, doing business in Saguache County as Saguache Solar Energy Project (SSEP), filed a 1041 application with Saguache County on November 8 for two, 100 mega-watt Solar Thermal Generating facilities to be located in the southern part of the county. According to a site characteristics study for the project done by Worley Parsons, “The SSEP will be constructed as two 100 MW units with each unit containing a circular solar array field containing heliostats, power block, administration/warehouse buildings, evaporation ponds and associated linear facilities (transmission lines, access roads etc).” “The SSEP will be located in unincorporated Saguache County, Colorado, situated west of State Highway 17, south and east of State Highway 285 and north of State Highway 112. Access to the site is off Country Road G, which is located north of the site.”

The projects will be what are commonly known as “Power Towers”, each with a tower 656 feet high filed with a concentrated solution of molten “salts”, composed primarily of sodium and potassium nitrates, which will absorb heat and store it for use in generating electricity.

According to the application, “The Project is based on concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) generation technology that concentrates the sun’s rays, heating a working fluid (a molten salt) that captures and stores the heat. Heat is used separately to create steam to drive a conventional turbine-generator to produce electricity.” Included is “a generalized process diagram of the ‘central receiver’ power tower CSP technology. The proposed CSP technology uses heliostats (tracking mirrors) arranged in a roughly circular array around a central tower to focus sunlight onto a thermal receiver at the top of the tower. Molten salt is heated to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it passes through the receiver and into a “hot” storage tank for later use. To generate electricity, the molten salt is circulated through a series of heat exchangers that convert water into high-pressure superheated steam. When the useful heat has been extracted, the molten salt is returned to the ‘cold’ storage tank and then to the receiver in a continuous cycle from sunrise to sunset.

“The superheated steam is used to power a highly efficient Rankine-cycle steam-turbine/generator to produce electricity in a manner that is similar to any other conventional utility-scale steam-turbine generator. The exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed and returned via feedwater pumps to the heat exchangers, where the high-pressure superheated steam is generated again in a closed-loop cycle. A small amount of the water in the steam cycle is purged to avoid buildup of concentrated impurities within the system. The turbine exhaust is cooled with an air cooled condenser, eliminating the water consumption associated with the typical wet-evaporative cooling process.”

The proposed project, which would be located on approximately 4000 acres, may be done in two phases, each with a power tower and roughly 1500 acres of heliostats. The project would be sited along the existing 230 kV power line that runs north/south through the Valley. According to an appendix submitted after the application, there is currently sufficient power line capacity to handle one of the 100 MW arrays. SolarReserve has faith that additional transmission capacity will be added to support the other 100 MW project.

One stipulation that the Saguache County Commissioners have put on this, and other solar projects, is that they must have a power purchase agreement before they can build. That means that some power company is willing to guarantee that they will buy the power. According to the submitted proposal, “The Project Applicant does not yet have an executed power purchase agreement with an electric utility, and is actively pursuing one. The power output of the Project will enter the grid at a new switchyard along the existing 230 kV line that bisects the site, and will supply the region and elsewhere depending on current demand. It is anticipated that 200 MW of electrical generation relative to utilities’ other power resources is such that the Project Applicant does not expect the supply from this Project to affect the general commodity pricing or overall market functionality of the electricity industry. However, the unique attributes of molten salt storage may lead to new, innovative, and cost-effective power plant operational strategies.” This raises another question about whether the project could meet the needs of the Valley should the transmission line across Poncha Pass become inoperable, although the application does not expressly say so.

There are numerous diagrams and simulations included in the application, which can be accessed on the Saguache County website, www.saguachecounty.net. Go to the search window in the upper left corner and type Solar Reserve.

Commissioners have one month to determine the completeness of the application before they will set a date for the Public Hearing. Once the Public Hearing is set, a public comment period will be established. Check the County website for updates and hearing dates. Until the Public Hearing is set, no comments will be accepted.

Crestone Telecom, a local investor owned company formed to bring broadband to the area, received word Monday, November 28th, that The San Luis Valley Development Resource Group’s board has approved their loan application. Says manager Cheryl Rowe “With the support of many community investors we now have the funds to make Crestone Telecom a reality. Investment opportunities are still available until December 31st.”

Background information from Ralph Abrams, Crestone Telecom

On November 18, 2011 the Federal Communications Commission presented, in a 700 page document, deep changes in the national telecommunications policy that would radically decrease funding to rural wired telecommunications providers. What does this mean to you, the end user? It’s that big changes are afoot in the telecommunications industry. These changes have to do with the Universal Service Fund. Basically, this fund collects from all telephone users and subsidizes rural telephone providers. This subsidy was designed so rural Americans could get telephone service where it would have been unprofitable for phone companies to supply that service without the subsidy. This has been the game for a long time in the telecommunications field with only the incumbent provider receiving the subsidy, and no chance of a competitor moving in—way too expensive to put in the necessary infrastructure. But change is coming.

The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that these funds be used not for telephone service but for Broadband—a big shift! Over the next five years rural telephone providers will be receiving less subsidy money for their telephone service. This is not good news for small rural telecom companies. There is really no way to tell what the shakeout period is going to bring in terms of continued service and support. Companies that have been counting on the subsidies to achieve profitability in their combined internet/telephone packages are going to be in trouble. Rates are going to skyrocket as these companies scramble to meet expenses and achieve profitability.

What is needed is a competitive environment where there is no monopoly on service. Consumers in a competitive broadband market have more choices in price, speed, and support. As Matt Larsen, writing for Wireless Internet Service Providers Ass’n, states: “The best way to improve broadband access to unserved and underserved populations in the US is to foster the development of smaller independent providers that can quickly address the needs of their communities using the most efficient technology available.” That is why fixed wireless internet service providers are proliferating across rural America with a technology that breaks the barriers of old school thinking about infrastructure costs and costly bandwidth. The new way of approaching bandwidth is this—the more you use, the cheaper it is—the more our community finds ways to utilize the abundant bandwidth available, the less costly it will be for everybody.

Crestone Telecom takes advantage of this new improved fixed wireless technology. Without carrying any old, dated, infrastructure costs, Crestone Telecom, with no subsidies and no handouts, will deliver high capacity, fast speeds and increased reliability to our community end users, establishing competition that will keep quality high and costs low. That’s what Crestone Telecom is all about and that’s what we are doing. Look for us on the ground January 2012. Go to Crestonetelecom.com for the latest updated information!