The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Four-way is the place for several smaller, more controlled fires
By Mark Reaman
After a lot of work and compromise, it appears the Crested Butte Town Council will support a new sort of fire at the Four-way Stop as the culmination of the Vinotok celebration in September. But there was some general concern among the audience that Crested Butte is becoming too gentrified, which could squash the spirit of Vinotok.
Dozens of Vinotok representatives came to the council August 15 to provide an update on their special event application, and they described a fire scenario different from the blazing bonfires of recent years that frightened some nearby residents and kept local law and fire enforcement officials on edge.
One of the festival organizers, Kat Harrington, gave the council an overview of the event and changes being made. “We heard loud and clear the concerns about the Four-way not being a good location for the fire,” she said. “Yet after much thought and deliberation, we continue to feel the Four-way is the best location for the event.”
Harrington listed several reasons why the Four-way was appropriate and said Vinotok was working with the marshals and fire department to mitigate the bonfire while trying to continue to provide a spectacle.
Instead of one giant bonfire, the group is essentially designing eight smaller fires surrounding the Grump. Those fires will be set up with horizontal logs instead of vertical stacks of fuel. There will be 75 percent less fuel stoking the fires than in recent years.
The design of the new fire is one that should mitigate, if not eliminate, any dangerous embers floating throughout nearby neighborhoods. The fire will be ignited using an electrical switch instead of gasoline. There will be theatrical effects added to the fire to keep it exciting as the fire size has been reduced. The fire rings will be the same size as previous years.
Vinotok fire experts Bob Wojtalik and Jesse Rochette, along with assistant chief marshal Mike Reily and Crested Butte Fire Protection District Fire chief Ric Ems, tested the potential ”exemplar” fire setup Monday morning.
“We made some suggestions after the test but we feel the design will be relatively safe,” Reily told the Town Council. “It is more controllable. You won’t get the fire column that goes up 120 feet and shoots off embers. The new design addresses the concerns and it will be a much lower fire. We feel confident this is something to try. We are cautiously optimistic.”
“We are good with the thoughts and suggestions from the town and fire department,” confirmed Wojtalik.
Rochette explained the science of the new fire and how there will be significantly fewer embers floating out of the perimeter, along with the importance of the fire’s history to a community.
“Will this provide the spectacle of the past?” asked councilman Chris Ladoulis.
“We hope it does,” responded Harrington. “I think it will be pretty spectacular. Not the same as it has been, but it should be spectacular.”
“It is really important that people know this isn’t just thrown together,” added Vinotok volunteer Martha Keene. “There are lots of people putting in a lot of work leading up to the fire.”
“It is great to see this process and everyone working together for a great festival,” summarized Ladoulis.
“The fire has a long tradition in this town,” said Chris Sullivan of Mountain Oven. “It’s not just the previous 30 years with Vinotok, but it goes back to the working miners and their spurt of rebellion.”
He asked the council to consider the new circumstances of the festival in the greater picture and what it says about the evolving community. “We must honor the soul of this place and the spirit that brought us all here,” he said. “You sit in a place of empowerment, and I ask you to remember that the opportunities of the generation moving here now are different from what you found. It is harder now for working people in this town. Try to provide opportunities for them and not just be the number one resort town or just make decisions to increase the economic engine. It is representative of the changes of the whole.”
That sentiment echoed what Harrington earlier told the council. “There is a wide and substantial shift occurring in the community as a whole, resulting in a leaching of the uniqueness that makes Crested Butte so special,” Harrington said. “The indomitable spirit of place is feeling more and more dampened and trampled. There seems to be a shift from the fun, funky, jovial, and homeyness to a groomed, boutique experience of the former sense of place.”
The council will hold a public hearing on the event at the September 6 meeting. The bonfire will be held September 24.
