Guardians commended for helping extinguish wildfire near Incline

Mary Shinn, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
·2 min read

Dec. 25—A group of Space Delta Guardians of the U.S. Space Force have received commendations for their actions preventing the spread of a wildfire Nov. 9 near the Manitou Springs Incline.

Manitou Springs Fire Chief John Forsett presented letters of commendation to the group last week.

The Guardians included Capt. Justin Ditter; 1st Lt. Nathanial Akers; Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Anacker; his wife, Ashley Anacker; Master Sgt. Kristopher Chesslo; Tech. Sgt. John Mendoza; and Sgts. Daniel Shanks, Dominick Cuervo and Kaivon Webb.

Forsett said in an interview that the fire started on a windy day with gusts 50 mph and higher. The actions of the Guardians "prevented further escalation of an incident that would have certainly progressed to involve many hours or days, and multiple agencies from across the region to mitigate," the commendation said.

Forsett said he could see the fire column and the results of their actions from afar. "It grew quickly and just as quickly we watched it diminish," he said.

Using what they had, the Guardians wrapped their shirts around their mouths to avoid inhaling smoke before working to contain the fire using water bottles and sports drinks, a news release said.

Akers explained in the release how the team established a supply line from the main hiking path to the fire. A runner would grab bottles of water from hikers near the trail and deliver them to be distributed at the site of the burn.

"It quickly became evident that we did not have enough liquids," Anacker said.

"We started using sticks, rocks and our bare hands to throw dirt on the fire to smother it."

When the Guardians came upon the fire, it covered about 10 square feet. It grew to cover over 20 square feet by the time the first responders arrived, a news release said.

Once it was confirmed the fire was out, the guardians continued their hike to the top of the incline to celebrate and complete a reenlistment ceremony for Anacker.

"There was a huge sense of excitement," Akers said in the release.

"When it comes to a team building exercise, you can't really beat putting out a potential wildfire."