Actually, the article did mention that positive advertising to offset the fire stories was part of the reason for the promotion. I drove to Colorado over the Fourth and up I-25 to the west and to the east smoke from the Los Conchos and Pacheco fires obscured the horizon. It was especially bad in the Espanola area with the sky orange brown and visibility poor.
Used to live there, got family there, been down the canyon. Any definitive ruling on the cause and origin of the fire?