highkey pissed how Meadow Creek handled fire restrictions
Kind of a rant but I just want to voice my opinion here.
From what I saw and what I've heard, the police presence at FOV was absurdly out of hand. I fully support everyone who documented what they experienced and intends to take it through the correct channels to get the cops in question reprimanded for their behavior.
I personally witnessed one of them react to someone yelling "cops!" by shouting something to the tune of "Oh, fuck you" before revving the engine of their UTV and driving recklessly through the area it happened in.
All that said, I want to explain why BV is in fire restrictions and why Meadow Creek holds some of the blame here.
I'm sure that 99.9% of you are responsible smokers who wouldn't throw a lit dart/joint into an area of dry grass or pass out with one in your hand, but all it takes is that 0.1% of people who are too inebriated or uneducated to cause a really big problem.
Conditions aren't as bad as they were a month or two ago, but the rehab work on the two major fires that were spitting distance from BV is still very much ongoing. That rehab work is being done by firefighters who would otherwise be available at the station to take care of stuff as it pops up. That's why they're in stage 2- not because there's currently a high risk for a wildfire, but because there aren't the resources to deal with one on the off chance it did start. That line has to be drawn somewhere.
I am genuinely livid with the way that Chaffee County & Meadow Creek handled this. I can't speak on the decision for increased police presence because it sounds like that happened well before this fire season, but I can speak on the fire restriction compliance side.
The biggest problem, by a longshot, was the lack of designated smoking areas until after the show on night 2.
Chaffee county says that during stage 2, smoking is not allowed "except within an enclosed vehicle or building or in an area at least twelve feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material."
I wouldn't call the grass in the camping areas or venue flammable, but if I was in Meadow Creek's shoes I wouldn't be banking on that. I have seen tents go up in flames and I would absolutely call them flammable. I didn't have a tape measure but I feel like the lanes between campsites might've been just too short to be more than 12 feet from a tent at any given time.
People are going to smoke. If Meadow Creek were aware of the increased police presence, and I have a feeling they were, they had a duty to give people an opportunity to not break the law.
It's a beautiful venue and I obviously don't blame the individuals that worked there on the ground because this was definitely a call that was made way above their head. It's possible they were lied to about enforcement by BVPD or the Chaffee County Sheriff, but Meadow Creek is actively deleting comments on their instagram talking about police presence.
The cops here obviously still hold most of the blame. Still, it feels like Meadow Creek could have done more to help.