On Friday Sept. 8, the families in District 14 were presented with the unfortunate news that the Homecoming Bonfire had been canceled. This Homecoming tradition has been held since at least 1957, and is loved by the students and community.

The underlying cause for the cancellation of this tradition was safety concerns. “The vegetation which firefighters call fuel is extremely thick and lush, which creates a fuel load that is dangerous for firefighters to engage fire directly,” John K. Forsett, Chief of the Fire Department, said.

Although there are always concerns when holding the bonfire, given the wet weather that occurred during the summer it shows a significant drying of the vegetation making it more susceptible to catching a spark. 

With that, the location of the bonfire has been brought to light as it is located in a divet between hills, it is surrounded by neighborhoods and wildlife. “Steep slopes and deep valleys create an environment that promotes extremely dangerous fire behavior and these features also create pathways that channel winds increasing their speed and making them erratic,” Forsett said.

With the recent wildfires around the area, the community has been understanding of this decision and respected the fire department’s decision. “I thought we would get a pretty significant response regarding the cancellation of the bonfire, but it was a calmer reaction given the circumstances,” Superintendent Sean Dorsey said. 

Students are a little more disappointed with this decision, as they look forward to the bonfire every school year and use it to celebrate the Homecoming weekend. Student Council Vice President, Landon Foster, feels the loss of the tradition. “Especially the seniors with it being their last bonfire and not being allowed to have it,” Foster said.

Given the recent news, students have been curious to find out what will be planned to replace this historic event. “President, Kate Johnson, had a meeting with Ms.Conrad to discuss possible events but to my knowledge and with what I have heard there is not going to be another activity,” Foster said.

Additionally, recent information has been released about the upper activity field at Manitou Springs Middle School, where the bonfire is held. Renovations are being planned behind the building that will prevent the bonfire from being held. “The plan is to turn that into more of a formal kind of playground area that will be nice for the students and school, so I don’t know if that’ll still be a suitable site for a bonfire,” Dorsey said.

Although it is disappointing to miss out on a long MSHS tradition this year, there is stll lots of fun to be had and other events to make memories at. “Have a safe Homecoming. Enjoy it. There’s a lot of great events that are planned, the student council have gone through a ton of trouble to do and to plan and execute so enjoy it and be safe,” Dorsey said.