The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2024
VOLUME 65 | ISSUE 42
$2
Despite defeat on consolidation, Road to top of Conifer fire districts working in unity Mount Blue Sky
closed until 2026
Fire chiefs say Quarry Fire clearly illustrated the benefits of working together
BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
fied district works. And they plan to continue doing so. All three say it’s the most effective way to protect
The highest paved road in North America, Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway, closed Sept. 3 to all travel to the peak including motorized, biking and most hiking as road repairs continue until Memorial Day 2026, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The byway, also known as CO Hwy 5, closed from the Forest Service gate near Highway 103 in Clear Creek County through the project area, above Summit Lake, USFS representatives said. USFS plans to repair the damaged roadway from the Summit Lake overflow parking lot to the first switchback past Summit Lake. Danille Perrone from Toronto, Canada stood at the peak of Mount Blue Sky with friends on Aug. 23 in 40-degree temperatures with a cold wind blowing strong across the peak as she gazed at the view from 14,264 feet with Summit Lake below.
SEE UNITY, P2
SEE BLUE SKY ROAD, P10
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Quarry Fire was a shock to foothills area residents and first responders, but not to Conifer-area firefighters. They’d planned for something like it for years. “We know each other’s capabilities and there’s trust there,” said Inter-Canyon Fire Chief Skip Shirlaw. “That doesn’t happen without years of training, meetings, planning and working together. It was a pretty awesome thing to watch.” The maps and strategies they’d created, and relationships forged over time combined into a successful outcome, local fire chiefs say — one that ended with no lives or homes lost. While a November 2023 consoli-
From left, Inter-Canyon Chief Skip Shirlaw, North Fork Chief Curt Rogers and Elk Creek Chief Jacob Ware say working as a unified fire district is the best way to protect PHOTO BY JANE REUTER the Conifer area.
dation effort among the Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork fire districts failed, chiefs say the recent wildland fire was yet another instance that shows working as a uni-
HAPPENINGS: 6 | VOICES: 8 | LIFE: 12 | PUZZLES: 16
CANYONCOURIER.COM • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA