The Rock Fire in Valley County burned close to three thousand acres this summer and came dangerously close to Tamarack Resort.
Here’s your first look at how the fire provided the resort a silver lining.
“Someone texted me from Highway 55 area and was like 'Bro! Your mountain is on fire.” President of Tamarack Resort, Scott Turlington said from that point on— it was all hands-on deck. "I’ve never seen agencies, especially federal agencies, mobilize that quickly. It was incredible."
"There’s 450 homes a mile away from this [fire]. [There's] a massive village, 100,000 feet of commercial space, you've got seven lifts, you've got all this infrastructure— there's a lot at stake.”
See what the burned terrain at Tamarack Resort looks like after the fire
How close did the Rock Fire come to Tamarack?
The fire actually entered Tamarack's property boundary but here’s the silver lining: All these trees will be taken out and this will be added ski terrain this winter.
Skiers will love being able to drop in through these trees and ski right onto the beloved Bliss ski trail.
RELATED | Checking out the wildfire damage near Stanley Lake in the Sawtooths
It’s not what Turlington and staff had envisioned when they started talking about expansion plans years ago.
“Not how we planned on getting there, right? Fires are obviously a natural part of the eco-system. It does create opportunities for new terrain, luckily no one was hurt," added Turlington. "Our team did a great job, but ultimately this is how you make lemonade from lemons.”
The nearby Mid-Mountain lodge that just opened last year acted as a staging area for firefighters, while providing shelter and a place to tap into needed water.
“But we allowed the forest service to do and what they were able to do was take hoses and tie into our hydrants and they did this up and down the ski run and then from there they rolled out the lines in fact this is still some of their hoses,” explained Turlington.
Turlington and his crew can’t say enough about the firefighters on the ground and pilots in the air. “We’ve had tons of our employees, owners here write letters and send cards [to the firefighters]."
And as black as the forest looks now, they are already signs of new life coming back.
