The same few months of 2020 that Colorado crown jewel Rocky Mountain National Park was suffering its worst losses from COVID closures, the whole place also nearly burned down. Now, things are looking up in the original Switzerland of the West. The park’s in-house firefighting crew, which said they’d been prepping for a sparkfest like […]
East Troublesome fire
Posted inNews, Wildfire
Deadly East Troublesome fire was human caused, authorities say, possibly by hunter or camper
The East Troublesome fire, which in October 2020 killed two people as it torched nearly 200,000 acres and destroyed scores of homes in Grand County, was caused by a human or humans, authorities said Friday. The U.S. Forest Service says that they made the determination “based on evidence gathered at the fire’s origin” north of […]
Posted inWater
Will massive Western wildfires leave more or less water in rivers?
Scientists at Colorado State University and elsewhere in the West are poking and prodding for clues into how wildfire impacts water supply.
Posted inNews
Emergency alerts were a problem long before the Marshall fire, reports show
More than 10,000 calls warning residents to flee failed when the Waldo Canyon fire exploded near Colorado Springs in 2012. Thousands of people were left without warnings as flames destroyed 347 homes and killed two people. That same year, evacuation alerts were sent to the wrong phone numbers during the Lower North Fork fire — […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, Environment, Housing, News, Politics and Government, Wildfire
Coloradans struggle to navigate insurance after losing a home to wildfire. State lawmakers want to make it easier.
Three days before the East Troublesome fire obliterated more than 300 homes, Amanda and Craig Shindledecker left their house in Granby and drove to their other residence in Lakewood to escape the smoke. They made a plan when the fire started: If flames crossed Colorado 125, Craig would drive back to Granby to gather valuables […]
Posted inWildfire
Survivors share what they’ve learned from their painful experience with Colorado wildfires
Sun staff writers Jason Blevins, Tamara Chuang, Shannon Najmabadi, Olivia Prentzel and Kevin Simpson contributed to this story. Colorado has endured some major catastrophic wildfires over the past decade. But if there’s any silver lining to all that devastation, it’s that the survivors have learned some valuable lessons about how to proceed in their aftermath. […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, News, Wildfire
Amid the charred ruins of Colorado wildfires, a sense of community evolves with the rebuild
About this story: Sun staff writer Kevin Simpson wrote and compiled this account with contributions from Jason Blevins, Jennifer Brown, Tamara Chuang, Shannon Najmabadi and Olivia Prentzel. Kiki Turner stood in front of the house where she grew up, now a pile of ashes in a scorched and flattened neighborhood. She could see for miles, […]
Posted inColoradans, Economy, Housing, News, Politics and Government, Wildfire
Grand Lake voters turn out in force to retain Mayor Steve Kudron in recall sparked by workforce housing plan
The election to recall Grand Lake Mayor Steve Kudron not only ended in disappointment for the town’s old guard, but it may have also empowered a new wave of residents to become involved in local politics. Longtime Grand Lake residents filed a petition with the town to recall Kudron, citing improper leadership, fiscal irresponsibility, violation […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
Colorado heads into snowpack season with low reservoirs — but a twinge of hope
Drought conditions have eased up a bit from this time last year, but as the calendar turns on Colorado’s water year, worries about a dry winter still loom, the state’s assistant climatologist says. That’s not to say Colorado isn’t parched. Most of the state remains in drought, including the Eastern Plains, which spent much of […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Growth, Housing, News
Grand Lake, still reeling from East Troublesome fire, is being shaken again by mayoral recall over housing
Like a dozen Grand Lake mayors before him, Steve Kudron smiled and waved at his constituents during the annual Buffalo Days parade last month. But Kudron added a twist no one had ever seen in 74 years of Buffalo Days. The vintage Hummer he paraded in sported a sign reading: “Vote No! Stop the Recall […]