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All aboard? Durango & Silverton train hampered by new fire restrictions by Jonathan Romeo
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s part of the settlement in a federal lawsuit related to the 416 Fire, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is now subject to sudden closures if wildfire danger is too high, which is having mixed results just a few weeks in practice. In March, the D&SNG and the U.S. Forest Service signed a settlement stemming from the federal lawsuit, in which the railroad was accused of starting the 416 Fire, north of Durango in the summer of 2018. The agreement held several conditions, namely that D&SNG would pay the federal government $20 million to recoup firefighting costs. In addition, the D&SNG has agreed to not run trains if wildfire danger is too high, as determined by a fire restriction system set by the Forest Service. “It’s definitely a game changer for the way we do business,” Jeff Johnson, general manager of the D&SNG, said. “And cancellations are the most difficult part of this process, because we’re aware this is something people have planned for a long time. It’s on their bucket list.” With an incredibly dry spring and early summer, the D&SNG has already been forced to shut down several days this June, canceling thousands of reservations and affecting the two towns that rely on the tourism dollars, Durango and Silverton. The situation is further muddled by the fact that after the 416 Fire, the D&SNG promised to convert its fleet from running on coal, which holds a huge fire risk, to oil- and diesel-burning engines. The D&SNG spent millions to fulfill this commitment, but even still, these locomotives are not allowed to run in certain conditions. And, long-term, as drought becomes increasingly severe and pervasive, local officials worry that sudden cancellations of one of Southwest Colorado’s largest – if not largest – tourist attractions could soil the region’s reputation, consequently affecting local hotels and restaurants. “No one wants to see a wildfire; that’s not the pushback,” DeAnne Gallegos, director of the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce, said. “The whole pushback stems from a lack of communication from the Forest Service and how tiny a window of time it is for us to know if trains are running the next day.” Never again Throughout its 140-year history, the D&SNG has shoveled coal into its steam engines to power locomotives to Silverton and back, a 90-mile round-trip. But engines powered by coal, which sends embers flying when burned, notoriously hold a huge risk of starting a wildfire. This is what federal investigators believe ignited the 416 Fire, which started just off the D&SNG railroad tracks north of Durango in June 2018 and burned 54,000 acres, endangering homes, forcing evacuations and causing drastic economic losses. In March, the D&SNG signed a landmark settlement (though as part of the agreement, the railroad does not legally admit fault for starting the fire). And, over the past
Passengers disembark the D&SNG at the train depot in downtown Durango./ Photo by Jonathan Romeo three years, of its own accord, the D&SNG spent upwards of $7 million to convert its fleet to oil and diesel engines, which burn liquid and therefore don’t emit sparks. D&SNG owner Al Harper said in the wake of the 416 Fire the railroad would never again shut down because of wildfire risk. And, for a short period, that was true. Last summer, for instance, the D&SNG relied solely on oil and diesel for the first time in its storied history. Despite drought conditions, the railroad didn’t cause any major fires. The settlement agreement, signed this past winter, changes all of that. Weighing the risk As part of the settlement, the D&SNG agreed to abide by the terms of the Forest Service’s “Industrial Fire Restrictions Plan,” a system of rating fire risk, which then triggers four levels of restrictions. At Level 4, the strictest, the D&SNG is barred from running oil or diesel engines, effectively shutting down the railroad.
The Forest Service tracks daily conditions, namely the dryness of fuels on the ground and wind activity. Then, based on the set of criteria, the level of risk is determined. As a result, this process isn’t a judgment call, said Dave Neely, the acting forest supervisor for the San Juan National Forest. “It’s not the Forest Service calling day to day, saying ‘stop running trains,’” Neely said. “We evaluate the conditions and make that data available to (the railroad), and they understand their obligations under the agreement when those conditions hit.” The criteria, however, is based on logging regulations in Oregon, which in part explains why oil and diesel locomotives are banned in Level 4. Johnson said none of the D&SNG’s oil burning steam engines and diesel engines have started a fire, nor is he aware of other scenic railways having fire issues with locomotives of this type. “We are aware there’s a lot of frustration within the
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