Great Stupa survives wind, wildfire threat
Firefighters protected the landmark Great Stupa at a Buddhist retreat near Red Feather Lakes from the Cameron Peak fire Saturday night as the blaze moved through the area, driven by gusty winds and dry vegetation.
Firefighters used hoses, sprinklers and pumps to protect the distinct structure at Shambhala Mountain Center, said Lindsey Lewis, a fire information officer.
Fire mitigation in the area had been done ahead of the fire’s approach, she added.
The complex did lose some buildings around the edges, Shambhala Mountain Center executive director Michael Gayner said Sunday, but that much of the core of the complex appears to have survived.
Center staff moved some precious objects, such as sacred artwork, into the Great Stupa before evacuating the area, he said, because they expected the Stupa to be essentially fireproof.
“It’s made of concrete and Rebar, so it’s unburnable,” Gayner said. “It’s intact. The firefighters had a lot of people and engines up there, just doing doing amazing work protecting our structures.”
He said the Great Stupa has been a “place of pilgrimage” for visitors to the mountain retreat, and many former visitors reached out as the fire closed in.
“We’ve just gotten overwhelming numbers of emails of support and it’s been deeply touching to hear about what SMC means to people, and the power of the Stupa as a place of pilgrimage,” he said. “The Stupa is definitely one of those things people go to for solace and rejuvenation.”
Gayner said he is eager to return to the mountain retreat — which was evacuated ahead of the fire — to assess the damage and figure out how to rebuild not just the buildings, but the forest itself.
he fire is another blow in an already tough year, he said, after the retreat was forced to essentially shut down because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“COVID stripped out all of our finances, so we have been crawling through the year,” he said, adding that anyone who wants to support the center can donate on its website. “At a time like this, some help would be wonderful.”
Crews faced difficult conditions Saturday across the fire as a whole, with wind gusts around 50 and 60 mph pushing the fire to the northeast.
The blaze grew to about 124,021 acres, or about 193 square miles, and is burning in the Roosevelt National Forest west of Fort Collins.
Two fingers of fire on the northeast edge of the blaze, north of Colorado 14, were the most active Saturday, according to a Sunday morning update from fire officials.