Huge fire Sat night at the Apogea festival

Hi all!
My wife and I attended the Apogea festival on Bart Bergers Land on sat.(across from EOS mill by Lost Acres--close to Wellington Lake)
Every fourth campsite had a campfire.(some over 6' high.)
We saw at least 50 tiki-type torch lights.
To top it off there was a GIGANTIC "bon" fire!!!!!
It was at least 60' around its base, the flames reached well over 60' in the air!!! and the glowing embers reached high into the sky at least 100'!!!
They were burning painted plywood and trash!
You could feel the heat 100' away!!
To top that all off we could only spot ONE 2lb fire extinguisher anywhere to be seen!
No Fire dept presence...
No police presence...
These people have NO IDEA what danger they are putting us all in!!
If this is what Bart Berger calls "conservation" We want NO PART OF IT!!!
To hold this "Burning Man" festival within 5 miles of the worst Colorado fire in history is BEYOND STUPID and INSENSITIVE!
Bart Berger should be ashamed!!

wow
(Is wondering why no one there called the fire dept or sheriff.) :faint:

Hi Becky!
We could find no one to ask if their permit allowed this type of fire!
Regardless of their permits, that they may or may not have had, We still believe this was the height of stupidity for the organizers and for Mr Berger!

I guess I am still trying to understand why NO ONE called the sheriff of fire dept and let them sort out the right permits. Asking about permits and standing by while our community is put in danger is not acceptable to me.

We were stunned, and a little afraid of the crowd that was there.
We decided, maybe not the best decision at the time, that it would be better if we alerted our community to what is going on in their backyard, and to try to stop this behavior in the future.
We will be making inquires to the authorities as to who allowed this to take place.
It will be very hard to hide a burn circle 60' in diameter!
It was surrealistic in that there appeared to be no one in charge and the crowd was very "excitable"!
By the time we got out of there we were exhausted from walking, but we felt that we needed to make our community aware!
We're sorry now that we didn't do more...

Post pictures!

Pictures weren't allowed and to be seen taking pictures we felt would have put us in danger...
Again maybe we should have tried anyway...see regrets above...

The Flume had a story on it this week. They had a fire permit.

http://www.theflume.com/main.asp?Sectio ... cleID=8172

(from the "other" site)

"By the time we got out of there we were exhausted from walking, but we felt that we needed to make our community aware!
We're sorry now that we didn't do more... "

It sorta sounds like you hiked onto someone's private property without permission???

I am unclear why anyone would attend or remain at an event in which they were clearly intimidated. Were the gates to leave locked?
I cannot even imagine the regret I would have if I was in attendance at an event and the worst case scenario happened and I had done nothing to try and prevent it.
Just my opinion Bailey Patriot, but I am a little miffed at the fact that you witnessed such acts and really did nothing but come to this website and complain. Sorry......I just think more should have been done to protect the community.
I personally would have left and sought help. Just sayin'

The event has been sold out for months, and those who went arrived on Friday, so I'm not clear how Bailey Patriots was able to be there for just one night, unless he was tresspassing.

He's also posting on the other site, where there's a six-page discussion.

I have a hard time believing his statement that no law enforcement or fire units were there, as they were well aware of it and have made it a priority to keep an eye on because of the crowds and the fire danger.

The time to have tried to rally support against this would have been months ago, not after the fact, IMO.

Here's an overview of the festival rules posted on their site:


Although we strive for freedom of expression, there must remain a few rules in order to maintain the safety of the participants and the integrity of the environment. Please study the How To Prepare section of this website carefully before attending the event. Here is a brief overview of those rules:
•Bring enough food, water, shelter, and common sense to keep yourself happy and healthy for the duration of your stay.
•Again, this is a Leave No Trace event. Pack out everything you bring in, including cigarette butts, gum wrappers, pistachio shells, apple cores….. everything.
•The following are prohibited, with no exceptions: glass, pets, private campfires, fireworks, explosives, charcoal grills, tiki torches, candles, oil lanterns, flares, and weapons of any kind.
•There is absolutely no vending of any kind permitted at the event.
• All installations/camps must arrange for their own power.
•Noise restrictions for generators and music will be enforced.
•Although alcohol is permitted, drunken behavior and underage drinking are not. Please drink responsibly. Please bring a photo ID. Everyone’s ID will be checked at the gate. Excessive quantities of alcohol may be refused at the gate.
•Apogaea supports county, state, and federal laws. This means you should comport yourself, with regard to these laws, as you would in any municipality.
•Any use of open flame must be pre-approved and must follow all the requirements outlined in the Rules section. Register your fire art for pre-approval.
•Burn barrels may not be moved and the wood provided is only for Apogaea burn barrels. Bring your own wood and 5 gallons of water for each approved burn barrel in your camp.
•If fire performance is permitted (pending fire ban status) it must be conducted within the designated fire performance area ONLY.

http://apogaea.com/

Photos from the event:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/apogaea/pool/