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My Colorado
Our Hilltop Heroesby Terri Thompson
We both stood there in silence among the charred trees-lumps in our throats, tears in our eyes and breathless. My husband and I hiked up Storm King Fourteen Memorial Trail with heavy hearts, not knowing what to expect.
Slowly and quietly we scanned the mountainside. We spotted the granite crosses clustered together toward the crest of the ridge. There, across the rugged canyon, fourteen firefighters lost their lives battling the 1994 Storm King Mountain fire northwest of Glenwood Springs. There, among the pinion pines, junipers and red dirt, the crosses stood in silence. In eerie stillness, we reflected on how these brave men and women met their fate. We imagined them trudging uphill through dense vegetation. Their strong bodies hauling chainsaws, axes and fire shelters. We pictured them cutting fire lines when the unthinkable happened-the hellish fire exploded. We visualized it rushing up South Canyon, engulfing the firefighters as they scrambled up the slope, just out of reach of safety.
Although we never met them, we grieved. When a firefighter falls, part of us dies too. As part of the "firefighter family" for 24 years, my husband and I know how quickly life can end. Climbing up the rocky hilltop gave us insight and appreciation for our "brothers and sisters" who fight wildland fires. Flashes of lightning sent us scurrying down the switchbacks, so we vowed to hike to the crosses another day.
In town we stopped to see the Storm King Memorial at Two Rivers Park. The stone memorials encircling the firefighter sculpture touched our souls-we felt sad, yet proud. These courageous heroes sacrificed their lives to protect Colorado's beauty.
Our day at Storm King Mountain was an emotional one. It reminded us to live each day to its fullest and to say "I love you" to those we love. Our hike is a special memory that is etched in our hearts, minds and souls forever.
Terri Thompson, a freelance writer and fitness instructor, lives in Greeley with her husband, Greg, a battalion chief with Union Colony Fire/Rescue.
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