Your Porch Wants to Burn

The projecting beam caught fire, which was luckily caught byfirefighters working in the area. As the Aspen Acres Fire moved toward them in early July 2026, the owners of this historic ranch (clear back to Charles Goodnight, in a way) cut a fire line through the surrounding pines with a skid steer. Later they got permission to come back for a few hours, while the area was officially evacuated, to look for some missing bison. Another volunteer firefighter and I were tasked with escorting them — there was still some live fire in the area — and making sure that they left on time. They cruised on ATVs here and there. We parked our "brush truck" and walked around nearby, noting what had burned (two outbuildings, a Kawasaki Mule) and what survived. The fire line had held, and that was good. But wind-blown embers had flown up under the back porch roof and lodged there, setting a large beam on fire. Had not a Forest Service wildland engine come by when it did, fire could have taken the whole…