Small container hidden near where the Hayman Fire was ignited on June 8, 2002. The geocache is approximately 1.3 miles up FR290 from CR77. It may be best to walk the final mile if you do not have a high-clearance vehicle, or if roads are saturated or snowpacked (parking coordinates provided below).
The Hayman Fire was intentionally lit in a fire ring very close to this spot at approximately 4PM on June 8, 2002. A part-time Forest Service worker plead guilty to the crime, but the reason/motive was never clearly established during the court proceedings. The perpetrator served 5 years in federal prison and owes a little less than 60 million dollars in restitution to the fire's victims.
The Hayman Fire still resonates for many of us who witnessed the spectacular, horrifying column of smoke boiling up on the horizon on the afternoon of June 9 - the day the fire made a 19-mile run to the northeast. I was interested enough to seek out a nearby geocache (CSP: Hayman Fire). Once there, I looked around but did not see evidence of the fire. I decided that the geocache was not close enough for me to connect to the events of those days. I wanted to be at ground zero.
After hiking further up FR290 and cutting through a stand of trees, I came to this place. One cannot be sure of the exact spot, because the fire ring was obliterated during the arson investigation. This spot seems close enough to the upwind edge of the burn and also in a relatively level area where one can easily imagine people gathered around a campfire toasting marshmallows (or drinking and raising well, you know...), so I hid a container in the vicinity.
The spot is so peaceful today. It is hard to imagine the chaos and catastrophe that erupted from it on that windy, scorching hot June day. Its about 19.6 miles, as the crow flies, to the furthest extent of the fire (where I have placed another geocache, Caching Fire #2 - Hayman Fire Trap). However, on June 9, 2002 that proverbial crow would have been incinerated by pyrocumulus clouds that soared to 21,000 feet and caused severe thunderstorms to occur as far away as Oklahoma and Texas.
If you make it to the geocache, take time to reflect on the thousands of firefighters who risked their lives to fight this monster (including one who died from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident while on duty), and the approximately one thousand victims of the fire, who lost pets, property and their mountain paradise.
Additional Waypoints
P06VZ1E - parking
N 39° 03.333 W 105° 23.634
This is where I parked my low-clearance vehicle.
Caching Fire #3 - Hayman Fire Origin
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