%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Avalanche http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/avalanche <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Avalanche</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3771--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3771.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/avalanche-path"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Avalanche_SilentBob_0.jpg?itok=3UBTiH1t" width="1090" height="520" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/avalanche-path" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Avalanche Path</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This photo shows the path of an avalanche that occurred near Frisco, Colorado in March 2019.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3772--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3772.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/beacon-checkpoint"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Vail_Pass_Beacon_Checkpoint_20220325_0.jpg?itok=oadCDzvn" width="1000" height="750" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/beacon-checkpoint" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Beacon Checkpoint</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A beacon checkpoint on Vail Pass, a backcountry area that sees lots of traffic in the winter. As&nbsp;the backcountry community is expanding in Colorado,&nbsp;the presence of beacon checkpoints serves as a reminder to all that a properly working beacon is always recommended in the backcountry.&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-08-24T13:20:15-06:00" title="Wednesday, August 24, 2022 - 13:20" class="datetime">Wed, 08/24/2022 - 13:20</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/avalanche" data-a2a-title="Avalanche"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Favalanche&amp;title=Avalanche"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Avalanches are quite common in Colorado’s <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a>. They can occur anywhere there is a sizeable amount of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow"><strong>snow</strong></a> and steep slopes, meaning most of Colorado’s High Country (from 10,000 to 13,000 feet) is prone to avalanches. The massive snow slides are extremely dangerous; between 1859 and 2006, avalanches killed at least 700 people in the state.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although education and forecasting have greatly reduced the death rate in recent decades, avalanches remain a danger. The winter of 2020–21 tied for the deadliest avalanche season in the United States, with twelve of the year’s thirty-seven fatalities occurring in Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Avalanche research and forecasting in the state began with the rise of Colorado’s downhill <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ski-industry"><strong>ski industry</strong></a> and the construction of public ski areas on <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/us-forest-service-colorado"><strong>National Forests</strong></a> along the <a href="file://users/williamwei/Desktop/Wei_LatestEdits%20/coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> in the 1930s. From its origin, avalanche research evolved from a niche field conducted primarily by US Forest Service staff to a state-funded, full-time avalanche forecasting center that helps us better understand the phenomena and plan accordingly.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Causes</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On steep, snowy slopes, a variety of natural conditions, including temperature and type of snowpack, can create avalanche scenarios. Once the conditions are right, all that is needed is a trigger, which is usually a person or vehicle. Intense snowstorms with high winds can blow excessive amounts of snow from one side of a mountain to the other, creating a huge snowpack susceptible to gravity. Or, a layer of snow freezes and accumulates fresh snow on top that can easily be released.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Signs of avalanche conditions include cracks in the top layer of snow and snow that settles suddenly when walked upon, usually making a “whumpf” sound. Areas where avalanches have recently occurred are prone to more avalanches, as are areas that have recently received a lot of snow and then experienced rapidly warming temperatures.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>More than 90 percent of fatal avalanches are triggered by the victim or someone in the victim’s party. Avalanches can be triggered by a person walking or skiing on unstable snow, or by vibrations from vehicles such as snowmobiles and ATVs. Survival odds for those trapped in an avalanche plummet after about fifteen minutes. For this reason, experts recommend that backcountry-goers have a transceiver, shovel, and probe with them in case they need to find someone and dig them out or signal for help themselves.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Nuche (<a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute people</strong></a>), who lived in the mountains of Colorado for centuries before the arrival of whites, were familiar with avalanches and referred to them as “yogöchaykw(a)” (yo-go-CHAI-ka). Generations of experience taught them how to avoid areas prone to destructive slides.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By contrast, most white miners who flooded the Colorado High Country in the mid-nineteenth century had no experience with avalanches. That changed quickly. The first recorded avalanche fatality in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a> occurred on March 6, 1861, about twenty miles southwest of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown%E2%80%93silver-plume-historic-district"><strong>Georgetown</strong></a><strong>. </strong>The following year, a man was killed when an avalanche hit his party near <strong>Cochetopa Pass</strong>. Between 1880 and 1890, when <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>silver</strong></a> strikes drew thousands of people to the Colorado Rockies, avalanches killed more than 140 people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The heavy mining era between 1860 and 1900 was the deadliest avalanche period in Colorado history, with 442 recorded deaths. One of the worst instances occurred near Silver Plume in February 1899, when an avalanche bulldozed a group of miners’ cabins. Ten people were killed, including two children. Colorado’s deadliest avalanche season came in 1915-16, when twenty people were killed statewide.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>There were some close calls as well. In mid-May 1874, a miner named Charles Roach was carried some 1,300 feet down McClellan Mountain south of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown%E2%80%93silver-plume-historic-district"><strong>Silver Plume</strong></a> by what the <em>Golden Weekly Globe </em>described as “an avalanche of snow, sixty feet wide[and] twenty feet deep.” Miraculously, he survived. So did Frank Ryan, a miner who, in January 1906, made the poor decision to cut across some deep snow above a mine on Bull Hill, west of <strong>Twin Lakes</strong>. According to the <em>Twin Lakes Miner</em>, Ryan triggered an avalanche that flung him down 600 feet and over several cliffs before embedding him in a snowbank, where he was rescued.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Avalanches not only killed people but were also industrial saboteurs, obliterating infrastructure and bringing all-important railroad traffic to a halt. In April 1885, a train carrying sixty workers on the <strong>Denver, South Park &amp; Pacific Railroad</strong> sped through a snow bank and triggered an avalanche that buried the train, killing at least one person aboard. Avalanches routinely delayed freight and passenger service in the winter; in February 1899, the <em>Eagle County Examiner </em>apologized for not getting issues to its readers on time, owing to “tremendous snowslides” that had blocked trains and killed workers across the High Country railways.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While avalanches were considered a routine hazard of mountain mining and transportation, the growing popularity of skiing and other mountain-based activities in the twentieth century prompted state and federal authorities to do more to keep people safe in avalanche country.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Avalanche Research in Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the winter of 1937–38, during the construction of a ski lift in Alta, Utah, the US Forest Service funded an observer to monitor weather, snowfall, and avalanches. The field expanded to Colorado in 1949, when a survey by Swiss mountaineer and scientist <strong>Andr</strong><strong>é</strong><strong> Roch</strong> changed how the Forest Service researched avalanches in the American West. In his report, Roch found that the West has three different winter climate zones that produce different snowpacks and avalanche characteristics. Roch outlined how the Colorado High Country, ranging from 10,000 to 13,000 feet in elevation, reflected a distinct and more volatile avalanche environment than the mountains in Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Realizing it needed avalanche stations in Colorado, the Forest Service established a weather observation station at <strong>Berthoud Pass</strong>, along the Front Range between <strong>Empire</strong> and <strong>Winter Park.</strong> Dick Stillman, a USFS Snow Ranger, and Whitney Borland, hydrologist and member of the National Ski Patrol, set up the station to monitor weather and climate patterns. Instruments recorded wind direction and speed, temperature, hourly and daily snowfall, the water content of snow, snow settlement, and depth of the snowpack. The researchers themselves recorded sky conditions, avalanche occurrence, and the size of avalanches.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The rangers at Berthoud Pass documented the occurrence of “deep slab” and “delayed release” avalanches, which are characteristic of Colorado’s High-Alpine climate zone. In other states, excess weight from snowfall causes avalanches to occur sooner after a storm. But Colorado’s drier, less dense snowfall doesn’t often overpower a weak layer within the snowpack until multiple storms bring enough weight—or a winter recreationist ventures onto the slope. This means that in Colorado, the avalanche threat remains high even after a storm.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The researchers at Berthoud Pass sent their findings to the Alta Avalanche Study Center, which was the hub for Forest Service avalanche research from the 1940s through the 1960s. After losing funding, however, the Alta station shifted to more of an administrative center that distributed information about avalanches to the public. In the early 1970s, the Rocky Mountain Research Station in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> became the new hub of avalanche research. A growing cadre of snow rangers and scientists developed new ways of recording and broadcasting avalanche conditions.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Advances in Avalanche Research</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>From 1971 onward, avalanche research in Colorado looked characteristically different than the early snow ranger years. Ski patrollers largely took over avalanche mitigation in ski areas and resorts, so Forest Service staff and university researchers shifted their focus to protecting resort infrastructure and communicating avalanche hazards to protect recreationists. They did this through two major projects: the Forest Service’s Alpine Snow and Avalanche Research Project, and the San Juan Avalanche Project, run by the<strong> University of Colorado</strong>’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/institute-arctic-and-alpine-research-instaar"><strong>Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>These projects created a concentration of avalanche experts in Colorado. The Alpine Snow and Avalanche Research Project, headed by veteran researcher Mario “Pete” Martinelli, expanded the network of weather stations in Colorado and recorded information with the help of longtime snow rangers, observers, and scientists like Ron Perla, Arthur Judson, Don Bachman, and Richard Sommerfeld.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The San Juan Avalanche Project, headed by former Alta Snow Ranger Ed LaChapelle, employed Bachman’s expertise in monitoring avalanche conditions to observe the effects of increased snowfall on roadways and wildlife. These researchers also ushered in the next generation of avalanche experts: Knox Williams, a newly graduated meteorologist, joined Arthur Judson in Fort Collins, and Betsy and Richard Armstrong, students of LaChapelle, moved to <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/silverton-0"><strong>Silverton</strong></a> to participate in the San Juans project. By placing young and old researchers in the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-mountains"><strong>San Juan Mountains</strong></a>, a range notorious for avalanches, INSTAAR concentrated experts in a rich living laboratory that produced knowledge about a range of topics surrounding the hazard.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In conjunction with avalanche research in other western states, these projects helped facilitate the growth of a small but crucial scientific community studying avalanches. Eventually, there was enough data to design a forecasting system.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Forecasting Avalanches</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1970s, snow ranger and Fort Collins avalanche specialist Arthur Judson envisioned using databases, statistics, and weather observations to create a state-specific avalanche forecasting center. Judson created a database called “The Westwide Network,” which stored past weather and avalanche data recorded at forty-two weather stations across Colorado and the West. This provided a baseline hub for mountain weather and climate data.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Judson understood that avalanche forecasting was a practice in statistics and probabilities. Collecting as much data as possible, he established the Colorado Avalanche Warning Program in 1973. This program monitored the same data as early snow rangers, but it was bolstered by a trove of new resources, such as the Westwide Network, field observers, National Weather Service (NWS) staff, industry stakeholders, and officials with the Colorado Highway Department (now the <strong>Colorado Department of Transportation</strong>).  </p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Colorado Avalanche Warning Program broadcasted warnings through the NWS communication network, reaching radio stations, newspapers, and television channels. The forecasts listed a time, location, projected end time, and a brief explanation of the warning’s nature. Judson’s statistical forecasting laid the foundation for future western avalanche forecasting centers.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Colorado Avalanche Information Center</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Due to budget cuts and shifting priorities in the Forest Service in the early 1980s, the agency cut funding to the Colorado Avalanche Warning Program and the project dissolved in 1983. Later that year, however, Knox Williams, Betsy Armstrong, and Barbara Welles secured office space and grant funding to establish the <strong>Colorado Avalanche Information Center</strong> (CAIC), the nation’s first independent, state-specific avalanche forecasting center.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Taking theories developed by Judson and his peers, the CAIC expanded the avalanche research community’s ability to reach Colorado’s public. It maintained ties with industry, recreation stakeholders, and state and federal agencies. Through publicly broadcasted forecasts, literature, and outreach efforts to increase avalanche awareness, the CAIC established itself as an essential entity for public safety. This importance was reiterated in 1992 when CDOT snowplow driver Eddie Imel was killed in an avalanche on <strong>US Highway 550</strong> in the San Juans. The following year, CDOT partnered with the CAIC to keep its drivers in the know.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today’s avalanche forecasts break up the state’s mountain ranges into three elevations: “below treeline,” “near treeline,” and “above treeline,” and highlight distinct hazards in all directions within these elevations, referred to as “avalanche problems.” Through this work, the CAIC has brought Judson’s vision of a Colorado-specific avalanche forecasting center into the present.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Effects of Research and Forecasting</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Avalanche research and forecasting over the course of the twentieth century has undoubtedly made Colorado’s winter backcountry much safer. Technology, such as personal transceivers that can help locate people trapped under the snow, has also given recreators and rescuers more tools to mitigate the avalanche threat.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Avalanche fatalities have never returned to their mining-era peak, even though they spiked again during backcountry visitation booms in the 1980s and 1990s (at least 110 people were killed in that span). Annual avalanche fatalities dropped back down in the 2000s, reflecting the effectiveness of past research and modern education campaigns. Today, avalanches only kill around six people per year in Colorado and about two dozen nationwide.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The history of avalanches in Colorado illustrates the uncontrollable and deadly nature of these events and the power of applied scientific research to make them less deadly over time. Even though there are far more people plying Colorado’s winter backcountry today than in 1860, the threat of death by an avalanche is much lower today.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>However, as the deadly 2020–21 season shows, people still trigger and die in avalanches in Colorado, often in the same ways they did in the past. No matter how much experience someone has, winter travelers to the High Country should always proceed with extreme caution.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/miler-alex" hreflang="und">Miler, Alex</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/avalanche" hreflang="en">avalanche</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/avalanches-colorado" hreflang="en">avalanches in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/deadly-colorado-avalanches" hreflang="en">deadly colorado avalanches</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/deadliest-avalanche-season-colorado" hreflang="en">deadliest avalanche season in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mining" hreflang="en">mining</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mining-disasters" hreflang="en">mining disasters</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/railroads" hreflang="en">railroads</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/environmental-history" hreflang="en">environmental history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/backcountry-skiing" hreflang="en">backcountry skiing</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cross-country-skiing" hreflang="en">cross country skiing</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ski-industry" hreflang="en">ski industry</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ski-resorts" hreflang="en">ski resorts</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/us-forest-service-0" hreflang="en">US forest service</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/snow-rangers" hreflang="en">snow rangers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/snow" hreflang="en">snow</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/snowpack" hreflang="en">snowpack</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/avalanche-research" hreflang="en">avalanche research</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/avalanche-forecasting" hreflang="en">avalanche forecasting</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arthur-judson" hreflang="en">arthur judson</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-state-university" hreflang="en">Colorado State University</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-collins" hreflang="en">fort collins</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/avalanche-science" hreflang="en">avalanche science</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=SEM18850425-01.2.19&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22avalanche%22+%22train%22-------0------">A Fatal Snow Slide</a>,” <em>St. Elmo Mountaineer</em>, April 25, 1885.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>B.R. Armstrong, R.L. Armstrong et al., “<a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/1571/chapter/1">Snow Avalanche Hazards and Mitigation in the United States</a>” (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1990).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dale Atkins, “<a href="https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/issw-2006-287-297.pdf">A History of Colorado Avalanche Accidents, 1859-2006</a>,” Proceedings of the 2006 International Snow Science Workshop, Telluride, CO, 2006.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Montgomery M. Atwater and Felix C. Koziol, “<a href="https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=15380">Avalanche Handbook</a>” (Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, 1953).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jason Blevins, “<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2021/10/27/colorado-avalanche-backcountry-fatalities-caic/">Colorado’s 2020-21 avalanche season was tied for the deadliest. It’s helping forecasters hone warnings and outreach</a>,” <em>Colorado Sun</em>, October 27, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Miles Blumhardt, “<a href="https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2022/01/21/why-colorado-avalanche-deaths-persist-despite-improved-avalanche-forecasting-education/6531643001/">White Death: Avalanche deaths persist in Colorado, across US despite improved forecasting</a>,” <em>The Coloradoan </em>(Fort Collins, CO), January 21, 2022.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Arthur Judson, “A Pilot Study of Weather, Snow, and Avalanche Reporting for Western United States” (Calgary, AB: October 1970).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Arthur Judson, “A typical sequence leading to issuance of an avalanche warning in Colorado,” paper presented at an avalanche warning workshop, Fort Collins, CO, October 8-10, 1974.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Arthur Judson, “<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/U_S_D_A_Forest_Service_Research_Note_RM/brcmAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=Arthur+Judson,+%E2%80%9CAvalanche+Warnings:+Content+and+Dissemination,%E2%80%9D&amp;pg=RA24-PA1&amp;printsec=frontcover">Avalanche Warnings: Content and Dissemination</a>,” US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, Research Note RM-291 (Fort Collins, CO: Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, June 1975).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Arthur Judson, “<a href="https://westernsnowconference.org/sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1977Judson.pdf">The Avalanche Warning Program in Colorado</a>,” presented at the 45th Western Snow Conference, Albuquerque, NM, April 1977).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TLM19060127.2.1&amp;srpos=18&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22miners%22+%22avalanche%22-------0------">Miraculous Escape</a>,” <em>Twin Lakes Miner</em>, January 27, 1906.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>National Weather Service, “<a href="https://www.weather.gov/safety/winter-avalanche">Avalanche Safety</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=GWG18740516-01.2.7&amp;srpos=14&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22miners%22+%2b+%22avalanche%22-------0------">New News</a>,” <em>Golden Weekly Globe, </em>May 16, 1874.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ron Perla, “Remembering Arthur Judson: November 5, 1933-July 11, 2020,” <em>The Avalanche Review</em> 39, no. 1 (October 2020).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eb2b59c111667c36c458b0cd758225ac">Snowplow Driver Lauded as Hero After Dramatic Escape</a>,” <em>Associated Press, </em>March 6, 1992.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADV18990216.2.36&amp;srpos=7&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22miners%22+%22avalanche%22-------0------">Ten Bodies Found. Victims of Two Avalanches</a>,” <em>The Julesburg Advocate</em>, February 16, 1899.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ECE18990211-01.2.14&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22avalanche%22+%22train%22-------0------">The Storm</a>,” <em>Eagle County Examiner</em>, February 11, 1899.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Knox Williams, “A Concise History of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center,” attachment on the email message to author, March 28, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Knox Williams, “A Short Talk on the History of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center,” attachment on the email message to author, March 28, 2020.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Dale Atkins, “<a href="https://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/issw-2000-046-051.pdf">Human Factors in Avalanche Accidents</a>,” Colorado Avalanche Information Center (Boulder, CO), 2000.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://avalanche.state.co.us/">Colorado Avalanche Information Center</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Department of Transportation, “<a href="https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/AvControl.html">Avalanche Control</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Geological Survey, “<a href="https://coloradogeologicalsurvey.org/hazards/avalanche/">Avalanche</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alexander Miller, “<a href="https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/10217/232518/Miller_colostate_0053N_16526.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y">Spent a Little Time On The Mountain: Backcountry Ski Touring in Utah and Colorado</a>,” master’s thesis, Colorado State University, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>William Philpott, <em>Vacationland: Tourism and Environment in the Colorado High Country </em>(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 24 Aug 2022 19:20:15 +0000 yongli 3773 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Gold King Mine Spill http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gold-king-mine-spill <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Gold King Mine Spill</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-06-18T17:06:56-06:00" title="Friday, June 18, 2021 - 17:06" class="datetime">Fri, 06/18/2021 - 17:06</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gold-king-mine-spill" data-a2a-title="Gold King Mine Spill"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fgold-king-mine-spill&amp;title=Gold%20King%20Mine%20Spill"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Around 10:30 am on August 5, 2015, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) crew ruptured a plug of rock and soil at the Gold King Mine north of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/silverton-0"><strong>Silverton</strong></a>, releasing an estimated 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater. This water ran into Cement Creek, a tributary of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/animas-river"><strong>Animas River</strong></a>, and was washed downstream through <strong>Durango</strong> to the <strong>San Juan River</strong> and eventually to Lake Powell. The contaminated runoff turned the normally green waters of the Animas River a bright orange-brown and brought national attention to southwest Colorado and the hazardous legacy of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a> in the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-mountains"><strong>San Juan Mountains</strong></a>.</p> <h2>The Spill</h2> <p>In the summer of 2015, the EPA was working to divert water contained within the Gold King Mine, an abandoned mine about ten miles north of Silverton. Contractors had advised the EPA that accessing the mine could result in a blowout, and the EPA’s on-scene coordinator, Steve Way, had postponed the job until the site could be inspected by the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bureau-reclamation-colorado"><strong>Bureau of Reclamation</strong></a>. While Way was away on vacation, his acting replacement, Hays Griswold, ordered the work resumed.</p> <p>On the morning of August 5, a contracting crew ruptured a plug of rock and soil while using heavy equipment to access the mine, causing the contaminated water within to pour out. It is believed that the water had accumulated in the Gold King Mine after the Sunnyside Gold Corporation inserted a series of bulkheads in the nearby American Tunnel Mine between 1996 and 2003. As natural runoff flowed into the plugged mine, it began to spill into adjacent mines, including the Gold King. Sunnyside Gold maintains that its mines are not connected to the Gold King, but the federal government still considers the company as a potentially responsible party.</p> <p>Three million gallons of wastewater poured from the mine into nearby Cement Creek. The wastewater contained high levels of lead, iron, arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, copper, and calcium, equivalent of what is released by the hundreds of mining sites around Silverton over a typical 300-day span. The spillage caused the water in the Animas River to rapidly become more acidic, dropping from 7.8 to 5.8 on the pH scale.</p> <p>The bright orange wastewater took roughly twenty-four hours to reach the Animas River valley, just north of the city of Durango. At this point Durango and surrounding <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/la-plata-county"><strong>La Plata County</strong></a> ordered the river closed to public use and stopped pumping water for city use. The river’s pH returned to near normal levels about a day later, but the water remained a bright orange color due to sediment that had been deposited along the river and was still leaking into the river; the mine was still draining contaminated water into Cement Creek at an estimated rate of 800 gallons per minute.</p> <h2>Immediate Response</h2> <p>The EPA held its first public meeting about the accident on August 7 in Durango. The agency accepted responsibility for the disaster and explained its initial plan for containment. It would build settling ponds where sediment could settle to the bottom and water could be treated before it ran into the Animas River.</p> <p>The EPA opened an interim water treatment plant eight miles north of Silverton on October 19, 2015. Designed to treat runoff from Gold King and other mining sites in the area, the plant cost $1.5 million to open and more than $2.4 million per year to operate. As of January 2021, the interim treatment plant is still in operation and filters the estimated 300 gallons per minute of contaminated water that still drains from the Gold King Mine.</p> <p>An internal investigation at the EPA, published on August 26, 2015, identified a lack of analysis of the water pressure within the Gold King Mine as the critical factor that led to the spill. Rather than drill directly into the blockage, the crew should have drilled vertically into the access tunnel from a different location to ascertain the water pressure. The report stated that proper drilling and testing could have prevented the sudden release.</p> <h2>Effects</h2> <p><em>Environmental</em></p> <p>In the days immediately following the disaster, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-parks-and-wildlife"><strong>Colorado Parks and Wildlife</strong></a> placed cages of fish into the Animas River to assess the potential damage to aquatic life. Somewhat surprisingly, few of the fish in the cages died. In fact, studies of the waterway have shown that the spill had little to no long-term effect on the river, largely because it already contained high levels of heavy metals from thousands of old mines in the region. This contamination causes stretches of the river to be virtually devoid of aquatic life and renders the fish populations inhabiting the river near Durango incapable of reproducing.</p> <p>The disaster provided the impetus for the creation of the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund Site, which facilitates access to federal funding and resources, to help deal with the problem of mine drainage. Silverton had previously opposed attempts to create a Superfund site, which it feared would dissuade companies from reopening mines that had been the foundation of the town's early economy, but this time the Silverton City Council and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-county"><strong>San Juan County</strong></a> Commission unanimously approved the designation in February 2016. The Superfund designation focuses on forty-eight mining sites in the mountains surrounding Silverton, with the goals of improving downstream water quality, stabilizing sites that contribute contaminants, and minimizing risks of future blowouts. As of August 5, 2020, more than $75 million had been spent on the site, but there were still no meaningful improvements to the Animas River’s water quality or aquatic life because the sources of contamination are so widespread.</p> <p>Future remediation options in the Bonita Peak Mining District include the placement of additional plugs in discharging mines or the creation of a permanent water-treatment facility. Locals are concerned that the placement of additional plugs will only postpone the problem, potentially leading to another large discharge if a plugged mine becomes overly pressurized.</p> <p><em>Tourism</em></p> <p>Local rafting companies in the Durango area were forced to close down for eight days while the contaminated water worked its way downstream. Regional politicians quickly tried to restore public confidence in the safety of the water and restore tourism to the affected communities. On August 12, 2015, Governor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/john-hickenlooper"><strong>John Hickenlooper</strong></a> famously drank from the Animas River in an attempt show that the water was safe. "If that shows that Durango is open for business, I'm happy to help," Hickenlooper said.</p> <p>Even after the water was cleared for public use, tourists were hesitant to return to the river and its communities. Local businesses filed millions of dollars’ worth of lost-income claims and lawsuits. None of these claims has been paid out, because the EPA claimed governmental immunity, but several lawsuits are still pending in federal court.</p> <p><em>Navajo</em></p> <p>The contaminated runoff from the Gold King Mine spill reached the <strong>Navajo</strong> Nation, which flanks the San Juan River in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, in the middle of the growing season. It caused both physical damage (lost crops) and cultural damage, as the waters of the Animas carry a spiritual significance. The federal government provided tanker trucks filled with potable water for use by affected farmers, but for many this came too late as crops had already dried up without access to clean water for irrigation.</p> <p>Some Indigenous communities, such as in Shiprock, New Mexico, refused to use irrigation water from the Animas River for the following year even after it had been cleared by federal officials. They harbored a long-standing distrust of the federal government owing to its history of mistreating the land and breaking treaties with Native Americans. Consumers also showed reluctance to purchase produce grown in the area. The Shiprock Farmers Market was shuttered for three years after the disaster. Upon its reopening, the market showcased flyers with both local and EPA-sponsored data demonstrating the safety of the crops.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>The Gold King Mine Spill provided a graphic, high-profile reminder of the problem of acid mine drainage, an ongoing process that annually leaks more contaminants into the Animas River than were released by the disaster. The forty-eight sites designated in the Bonita Peak Mining District are the primary culprits. Five years after the disaster, the EPA is still studying the area and proposing remediation efforts. Cleanup remains years away. Across Colorado, many other waterways are similarly affected by this toxic legacy of the state’s largely unregulated nineteenth-century rush for mineral wealth.</p> <p>In January 2021, Sunnyside Gold reached “no fault” settlements with New Mexico and the Navajo Nation for $11 million and $10 million, respectively. The cases were filed under the assumption the Gold King Mine was filled with overflow water from the American Tunnel Mine, and Sunnyside Gold settled to avoid the cost of ongoing litigation. Cases against the EPA and its contractor are pending in federal court and are expected to go to trial in 2022. New Mexico is seeking $130 million and the Navajo Nation $162 million. A similar case was settled between the state of Utah and the EPA for $3 million in clear water projects and $360 million in abandoned-mine remediation projects.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/perkins-luke" hreflang="und">Perkins, Luke</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gold-king-mine" hreflang="en">gold king mine</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silverton" hreflang="en">Silverton</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cement-creek" hreflang="en">Cement Creek</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/animas-river" hreflang="en">Animas River</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/animas-river-spill" hreflang="en">animas river spill</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/acid-mine-drainage" hreflang="en">acid mine drainage</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/epa" hreflang="en">EPA</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Dan Elliot, "<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzIzNTI2NS0zLXllYXJzLWFmdGVyLWdvbGQta2luZy1taW5lLXNwaWxsLXZpY3RpbXMtYXdhaXRpbmctcGF5bWVudA%3D%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3Nl">3 Years After Gold King Mine Spill, Victims Awaiting Payment</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 5, 2018.</p> <p>“<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzE0NzQtaW50ZXJpb3ItZGVwYXJ0bWVudC10by1pbnZlc3RpZ2F0ZS1nb2xkLWtpbmctbWluZS1hY2NpZGVudA%3D%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3NlYXJj">Interior Department to Investigate Gold King Mine Accident</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 18, 2015.</p> <p>Peter Marcus, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzE1MjctZXBhLXRha2VzLWJsYW1lLWZvci1hbmltYXMtcml2ZXItY29udGFtaW5hdGlvbg%3D%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3NlYXJjaCUzRnV0ZjglM0Ql">EPA Takes Blame for Animas River Contamination</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 7, 2015.</p> <p>Peter Marcus, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzk0Njc4LWdvbGQta2luZy1taW5lLXdhdGVydHJlYXRtZW50LXBsYW50LW9wZXJhdGlvbmFs&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3NlYXJjaCUzRnV0ZjglM0QlMjVF">Gold King Mine Water-Treatment Plant Operational</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, October 19, 2015.</p> <p>Peter Marcus, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzk0MDM0LWhpY2tlbmxvb3Blci1kcmlua3MtYW5pbWFzLXJpdmVyLXdhdGVyLXRvLW1ha2UtYS1wb2ludA%3D%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3NlYXJjaCUz">Hickenlooper Drinks Animas River Water to Make a Point</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 12, 2015.</p> <p>Peter Marcus, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzIwMjQtaW5zdWZmaWNpZW50LXBsYW5uaW5nLWNpdGVkLWluLWVwYS1pbnZlc3RpZ2F0aW9uLW9mLWdvbGQta2luZy1taW5lLXNwaWxs&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQu">‘Insufficient’ Planning Cited in EPA Investigation of Gold King Mine Spill</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 26, 2015.</p> <p>Chase Olivarius-Mcallister, Mary Shinn, and Shane Benjamin, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzE1MjgtY2F0YXN0cm9waGUtb24tdGhlLWFuaW1hcw%3D%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3NlYXJjaCUzRnV0ZjglM0QlMjVFMiUyNTlDJTI1OTMlMjZxdWVy">Catastrophe on the Animas</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 6, 2015.</p> <p>Jonathan Romeo, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzMzNDIzNi1maXZlLXllYXJzLWFmdGVyLWdvbGQta2luZy1taW5lLXNwaWxsLXdhdGVyLXF1YWxpdHktcmVtYWlucy1hLWNvbmNlcm4%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbG">Five Years After Gold King Mine Spill, Water Quality Remains a Concern</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, August 5, 2020.</p> <p>Jonathan Romeo, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzM2MDQzMS1uZXctbWV4aWNvLXJlYWNoZXMtMTEtbWlsbGlvbi1zZXR0bGVtZW50LXdpdGgtbWluaW5nLWNvbXBhbnktb3Zlci1nb2xkLWtpbmctc3BpbGw%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2">New Mexico Reaches $11 Million Settlement With Mining Company Over Gold King Spill</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, January 13, 2021.</p> <p>Jonathan Romeo, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzMxMTU5MS1vd25lci1vZi1nb2xkLWtpbmctbWluZS1ub3QtaGFwcHktd2l0aC1wcm9wb3NlZC1jbGVhbnVwLXNvbHV0aW9u&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3Nl">Owner of Gold King Mine Not Happy With Proposed Cleanup Solution</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, January 24, 2020.</p> <p>Jonathan Romeo, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzI2NTE2Mi1zdW5ueXNpZGUtZ29sZC1zYXlzLWVwYS1zaG91bGQtYmUtcmVjdXNlZC1mcm9tLWxlYWRpbmctc2lsdmVydG9uLXN1cGVyZnVuZC1jbGVhbnVw&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1">Sunnyside Gold Says EPA Should Be Recused From Leading Silverton Superfund Cleanup</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, February 25, 2019.</p> <p>Jonathan Romeo, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzI4NTAzMS1zdW5ueXNpZGUtZ29sZC1zYXlzLW5vLXRvLWVwYXMtd29yay1vcmRlci1hdC1zdXBlcmZ1bmQ%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL3NlYXJjaCUzRn">Sunnyside Gold Says 'No' to EPA's Work Order at Superfund</a>,” <em>Durango Herald</em>, July 10, 2019.</p> <p>Jonathan Romeo, “<a href="https://durangoherald.com/lms/loading.html#rotftwetu=aHR0cHMlM0EvL3d3dy5nb29nbGUuY29tLw%3D%3D&amp;ibothsahtrtd=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY29tL2FydGljbGVzLzI2NzY0Ni13aGF0LWFyZS10aGUtdWx0aW1hdGUtZ29hbHMtZm9yLXN1cGVyZnVuZC1jbGVhbnVwLWFyb3VuZC1zaWx2ZXJ0b24%3D&amp;shtlp=aHR0cHMlM0EvL2R1cmFuZ29oZXJhbGQuY2">What Are the Ultimate Goals for Superfund Cleanup Around Silverton?</a>” <em>Durango Herald</em>, March 13, 2019.</p> <p>Jonathan Thompson, “<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=016503085263777864607:rznav6saqcq&amp;q=https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.7/silvertons-gold-king-reckoning&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj6v56mgMLuAhXXB80KHUIJAV4QFjAAegQIABAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3lhAEB0W9QxJl999iWRXkj">Silverton’s Gold King Reckoning</a>,” <em>High Country News</em>, May 2, 2016.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Teresa Montoya, “Yellow Water: Rupture and Return One Year After the Gold King Mine Spill,” <em>Anthropology Now</em> 9, no. 3 (2017).</p> <p>Kelly Roberts, “A Legacy That No One Can Afford to Inherit: The Gold King Disaster and the Threat of Adbandoned Hardrock Legacy Mines,” <em>Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary</em> 36 (2016).</p> <p>Jonathan Thompson, <em>River of Lost Souls: The Science, Politics, and Greed Behind the Gold King Mine Disaster</em> (Salt Lake City: Torrey House Press, 2018).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 18 Jun 2021 23:06:56 +0000 yongli 3575 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Panic of 1893 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/panic-1893 <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Panic of 1893</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T14:16:07-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 14:16" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 14:16</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/panic-1893" data-a2a-title="Panic of 1893"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fpanic-1893&amp;title=Panic%20of%201893"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The Panic of 1893 touched off a nationwide economic depression that lasted for at least three years, threw millions out of work, and caused banks and businesses to fail across the country. In Colorado and other <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>silver-mining</strong></a> states, the panic was tied to the abrupt collapse of the silver industry after two decades of explosive growth. When silver prices dropped, not only did mines close, so did the businesses that supplied them. The farmers who grew food for mining towns also suffered.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Panic of 1893 hit Colorado’s mining industry hard, throwing many miners out of work in places such as <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/leadville"><strong>Leadville</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/aspen"><strong>Aspen</strong></a>. The nationwide depression of agricultural prices also hurt Colorado’s farmers. Overall, the Panic of 1893 was a major inflection point in Colorado’s long history of boom-and-bust economic cycles, which began with the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a> in the early 1800s and continued through the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a>, the Panic of 1893, and sporadic <strong>oil </strong>and <strong>real estate</strong> booms in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Background</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout the late nineteenth century, Americans engaged in a national debate over which metal—gold, silver, or both—should back US currency. Support was largely sectional: northerners for gold, southerners and westerners for silver. Most Coloradans, awash in silver booms from Leadville to Aspen and the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-mountains"><strong>San Juans</strong></a>, wanted silver coinage. After the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 required the federal government to buy a certain amount of silver each month, Colorado’s annual production of the metal remained steadily above 10 million ounces. By contrast, the state’s gold production was only one-third as valuable (or less) throughout the 1880s.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But the West’s silver boom undermined itself. A glut in the silver market sent prices crashing—down 25 percent at the end of the 1880s—and worried mine owners appealed to Congress for help. The result was the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the government to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver each month. This increased the government’s silver purchase by 50 percent and was a boon to Colorado and other silver-mining states.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Silver also had the strong backing of the People’s Party of the USA, commonly known as the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/populism-colorado"><strong>Populist</strong></a> Party, which emerged during an agricultural depression in the late 1880s. Populists sought to put farmers and working-class people on a more equal political footing with banks and other large businesses. They supported backing the US dollar with silver because it would expand the money supply and result in inflation, yielding farmers higher prices for their crops while reducing the value of debts owed to banks and other creditors. This made the party popular not only in the South and Midwest but also in silver states like Colorado; in 1892 Coloradans elected a Populist governor, <strong>Davis Waite</strong>, the biggest political victory for the new party anywhere in the nation.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite the support of Colorado and several other silver-mining states, third-party Populists lost the presidential election of 1892. After a four-year absence, Democrat Grover Cleveland returned to office for a second term, and he took over a nation on the brink of economic collapse. Years of agricultural depression, the draining of gold in the US treasury (due in part to increased mandatory silver purchases since 1890), and reduced international trade due to the McKinley Tariff of 1890 all contributed to the Panic of 1893.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Economic Devastation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Along with most other states, Colorado’s depression began in earnest that spring. By July 1893, some 45,000 Coloradans were out of work, as banks closed and railroad companies teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While there were multiple causes of the Panic, the reduction of gold reserves in the US treasury got the most attention from lawmakers and the Cleveland Administration. Unlike many in his party, the president was no fan of silver and believed that mandatory silver buying hurt the US economy. Cleveland eventually overcame his own party’s objections, and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed in October 1893, adding to the economic panic in Colorado and across the silver-mining West.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After the repeal of the Sherman Act, the price of silver dropped by about one-third. Although the repeal was intended to stimulate the national economy, it devastated Colorado’s. Of the silver mining towns, Leadville suffered the most, with ninety mines closed and 2,500 unemployed. Altogether, more than 9,500 jobs dried up in mining towns across the state.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The free-falling economy affected rich and poor alike. Mining millionaires such as <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/horace-tabor"><strong>Horace Tabor</strong></a> lost their fortunes, while real estate tycoon <strong>Henry Brown</strong>, could not pay his debts on the new <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/brown-palace-hotel"><strong>Brown Palace Hotel</strong></a> and was eventually forced to sell the building. Twelve banks failed in <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> alone. Real estate prices plummeted and the population grew restless, traveling around the state looking for any kind of work. Colorado’s suffering was not unique; by December 1893, some 3 million people had lost jobs nationwide, with some trades losing up to 80 percent of their workforces. National unemployment stood at 12.3 percent by 1894 and did not drop below 10 percent until 1899.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Governor Waite could do little to provide relief, as his policies drew substantial opposition from the main parties and Populists held minorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Local communities did what they could. The <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/state-soldiers%E2%80%99-and-sailors%E2%80%99-home"><strong>State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home</strong></a>, built in the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a> in 1889 to house aging Civil War veterans, took in more veterans who were now unemployed. Out-of-work silver miners flocked to the booming <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cripple-creek"><strong>Cripple Creek</strong></a> gold district, where mine owners took advantage of the labor shortage; tensions with workers eventually reached a fever pitch during a <strong>strike in 1894</strong>. Leadville built a large and elaborate <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/leadville-ice-palace"><strong>Ice Palace</strong></a> in the winter of 1895–96 to attract tourists, even as the local mining industry was beginning to pick back up.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The effects of the economic depression caused by the Panic of 1893 did not fade until 1897, even though mining had somewhat recovered in Leadville and other places. Consolidation helped revive the silver-mining industry. In Colorado, for example, only the largest mining companies were able to make the capital investments necessary to survive the depression, while most smaller outfits went out of business. The large companies then bought up their failing competitors, further solidifying control over the industry. This trend increased corporate power nationwide and eventually led to the famous antimonopoly campaigns of President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Panic of 1893 produced the worst economic depression in US history to that point. It was known as the Great Depression until that moniker was earned by the economic rupture of the 1930s. Colorado’s mining industry recovered, but the state became less dependent on it than before, as manufacturing and agriculture emerged as important economic pillars. On the plains, agriculture underwent shifts, as the depression forced more farmers to raise cattle and pushed others off their land entirely and into Denver and other cities (the new <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sugar-beet-industry"><strong>sugar beet industry</strong></a> eventually revived Colorado agriculture after 1900). The panic even had an effect on Colorado architecture; buildings built after the crash tended to be simpler than the ornate edifices built during the silver boom, perhaps reflecting a newfound humility among the state population.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The memory of the Panic of 1893 eventually faded, as the early 1900s brought the booming sugar beet and manufacturing industries, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-fuel-iron"><strong>Colorado Fuel &amp; Iron</strong></a>’s statewide coal empire, and a surge in agricultural demand during <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a>. Still, the Panic of 1893 holds lessons for the state that are not always heeded. For instance, by the early 1980s, Colorado’s economy was nearly as dependent on oil shale as it was on silver during the 1890s. When ExxonMobil and other oil companies abruptly abandoned shale production in 1982, Colorado’s economy went into a free fall, suggesting that the state had learned little from past boom-and-bust cycles. Colorado’s economy has since diversified, but the Panic of 1893 still reminds Coloradans that they cannot afford to take any booming industry for granted—whether it is silver in the 1890s, oil in the 1980s, or the current real estate boom along the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/panic-1893" hreflang="en">panic of 1893</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/depression" hreflang="en">depression</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/boom-and-bust" hreflang="en">boom and bust</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-history" hreflang="en">colorado history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-economy" hreflang="en">colorado economy</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/oil-and-gas" hreflang="en">oil and gas</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/real-estate" hreflang="en">real estate</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gold-rush" hreflang="en">gold rush</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-gold-rush" hreflang="en">Colorado Gold Rush</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silver" hreflang="en">silver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silver-mining" hreflang="en">silver mining</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/aspen" hreflang="en">Aspen</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/leadville" hreflang="en">Leadville</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cripple-creek" hreflang="en">Cripple Creek</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/san-juan-mountains" hreflang="en">San Juan Mountains</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silverton" hreflang="en">Silverton</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver" hreflang="en">Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/smelter" hreflang="en">smelter</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mining-history" hreflang="en">mining history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/soldiers-and-sailors-home" hreflang="en">soldiers and sailors home</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and David McComb, <em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State </em>3rd ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 1994).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John M. Cunningham, “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1892/additional-info#history">United States Presidential Election of 1892</a>,” <em>Encyclopedia Britannica</em>, updated November 1, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Brandon R. DuPont, “Panic in the Plains: Agricultural Markets and the Panic of 1893,” <em>Cliometrica</em> 3, no. 1 (2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Oscar Handlin, “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States">United States</a>,” <em>Encyclopedia Britannica</em>, updated December 8, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Charles W. Henderson, <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0138/report.pdf"><em>Mining in Colorado: A History of Discovery, Development, and Production</em></a> (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1926).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TAV18931230-01.2.5&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=--1893---1895--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22out+of+work%22-------0-----">Millions out of Work</a>,” <em>The Avalanche </em>(Glenwood Springs, CO), December 30, 1893.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tom Noel and Duane Smith, <em>Colorado: The Highest State </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Duane Smith, <em>The Trail of Gold and Silver: Mining in Colorado, 1859–2009 </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2009).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Richard White, <em>The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1896</em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David O. Whitten, “<a href="https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-depression-of-1893/">The Depression of 1893</a>,” Economic History Association, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Amy Zimmer, “<a href="https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/resource-sharing/state-pubs-blog/the-crash-of-1893/">The Crash of 1893</a>,” Colorado State Publications Blog, Colorado Virtual Library, </p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Stephen J. Leonard and Tom Noel, <em>Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 1990).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 21:16:07 +0000 yongli 3549 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org The Great Die Up http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-die <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Great Die Up</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:40:30-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:40" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:40</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-die" data-a2a-title="The Great Die Up"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fgreat-die&amp;title=The%20Great%20Die%20Up"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>“The Great Die Up” is one of three nicknames for the winter of 1886–87, when hundreds of thousands of cattle across the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>Great Plains</strong></a> died in harsh weather. The event changed the cattle industry forever, ending the practice of open-range grazing. <strong>Ranchers</strong> also called this weather event “The Big Die-Up,” or “Death’s Cattle Round-Up.” The deadly winter helped usher in an era of smaller-scale ranching and federal rangeland management to prevent massive, livestock-caused environmental degradation.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Open-Range Grazing</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Between 1880 and 1885, the open-range cattle industry peaked in both cattle numbers and rancher profits. This was partly because many large cattle operations grazed on what was called the open range—a boundaryless way of grazing cattle on public land with little to no oversight. In some accounts, ranchers counted close to 80,000 head herded in a season. Cattlemen drove these huge numbers of livestock across the Great Plains to rail lines to be shipped to stockyards in places such as Kansas City and Chicago. From there, the cattle went to slaughterhouses to supply beef to other parts of the country, especially fast-growing urban areas.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although it was profitable for large cattle companies, the open range came at a high environmental cost. The large-scale cattle drives degraded soils and reduced plant life across western rangelands. Millions of hooves compacted soils, making it difficult for plant life to regrow. Cattle also eroded the banks of streambeds and other water sources. Cattle trampled soils and removed vegetation, making it easier for water to carry away more sediment. When stream banks are eroded like this, water in the streambed dissipates faster. Additionally, overgrazing reduced grasses that were key to holding soils together, resulting in loose topsoil that was prone to erosion. Together, these effects of overgrazing made the rangelands vulnerable in a drought.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The profitability of the open-range cattle industry did not last long. Cattle prices dropped in 1885, partly because of the overgrazed and denuded landscape. The following summer, drought struck and further reduced grasses for livestock. The hot summer also dried water sources that cattlemen depended on. The lack of forage and water made it difficult to fatten herds. In the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a>, the summer drought sparked disputes over grazing lands. Under these conditions, the cattle industry was in a fragile state and could not withstand additional pressure.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Harsh Winter in the West</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Nature did not relent that year. The 1886 winter was brutal, starting early and including at least one intense storm every month. In mid-November, for example, a large blizzard blanketed the plains, covering forage the cattle needed to graze and leading to their starvation. With bitter cold and heavy snows continuing through March, cattle began to die or disappear in large numbers. The snow and cold temperatures made grazing almost impossible, and some blizzards were so intense that many cattle disappeared from their herds, lost or dead.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On the northern <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>, nearly 25 percent of cattle did not make it through the winter of 1886–87, affecting both large landholders and smallholders. Across the state, the number of large-scale cattle companies was slashed from fifty-eight in 1885 to just nine in 1888. In one telling example, the Poudre Livestock Company lost two-thirds of its herd, or $400,000 worth of cattle. Small cattle companies also felt the effects. Fort Collins stockman Peter Anderson lost 3,000 head, leaving him with almost no herd. In total, hundreds of thousands of cattle are said to have died, though reliable sources on the losses are unavailable.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>End of an Era</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Across the West, the Great Die Up helped to end the days of massive cattle drives across the open range. Before the winter of 1886–87, American and European investors saw the American West as a place of limitless natural abundance, and they invested heavily in the cattle industry. Their investments overstocked the range, creating a surplus of livestock that contributed to the degradation of the range. The Great Die Up was the final blow, as prices dropped even further, investors lost their money, and cattle companies went out of business.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Many small-scale ranchers also suffered. However, given their smaller acreages and herds, they fared better through the winter. With less land and fewer cattle, small-scale ranchers were better able to keep track of their herds, tend to them in winter storms, and move them from areas where forage was depleted. Many in the livestock business adopted practices used by small-scale ranchers, such as reducing herd sizes and keeping cattle in smaller, barbed-wire–fenced pastures, in hopes of avoiding another economic catastrophe.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to reducing herd sizes, the livestock industry took other measures to protect against another catastrophe like the Great Die Up. Ranchers and cattle associates worked together to limit overgrazing and take better care of the land and their livestock. Fences were one significant change. The once-boundaryless rangelands across the West now hosted miles of fences, ending open-range grazing. Fences also allowed ranchers to close off sections of range to prohibit grazing and allow forage to regrow. Furthermore, beginning in the 1890s, Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (now <strong>Colorado State University</strong>) in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> offered new courses for small-scale ranchers and farmers designed to help them better manage their land. The federal government also became more involved in the early 1900s, when the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/us-forest-service-colorado"><strong>US Forest Service</strong></a> began monitoring rangelands and implementing a permit system for cattle ranchers to minimize overgrazing.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/maxwell-dillon" hreflang="und">Maxwell, Dillon</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-die" hreflang="en">great die up</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ranching" hreflang="en">ranching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ranching-colorado" hreflang="en">ranching in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/open-range" hreflang="en">open range</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/weld-county" hreflang="en">weld county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-plains" hreflang="en">Great Plains</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/blizzard" hreflang="en">Blizzard</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=SCR18870609.2.31&amp;srpos=35&amp;e=-10-1886---1887--en-20--21--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cattle-ARTICLE------0--">End of the Range Business</a>,” <em>Silver Cliff Rustler</em>, June 9, 1887.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-west/">Hell Without Heat</a>,” Rocky Mountain PBS (2001).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=SGD18861118-01.2.7&amp;srpos=11&amp;e=-10-1886--04-1887--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cattle-------0--">An Important Cattle Decision</a>,” <em>Saguache Democrat</em>, November 18, 1886.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT18860124-01.2.11&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=--1886---1888--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cattle+deaths-------0--">Losses on the Range</a>,” <em>Pueblo Daily Chieftain</em>, January 24, 1886.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ray H. Mattison “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4515754">The Hard Winter and the Range Cattle Business</a>,” <em>Montana Magazine of History </em>1, no. 4 (October 1951).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John E. Mitchell and Richard H. Hart, “Winter of 1886–87: The Death Knell of Open Range,” <em>Rangelands </em>9, no. 1 (February 1987).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT18860925-01.2.2&amp;srpos=9&amp;e=--1886---1889--en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-pleuropneumonia-------0--">Pleuro Patients</a>,”  <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, September 25, 1886.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRV18861009-01.2.9&amp;srpos=34&amp;e=-10-1886---1887--en-20--21--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cattle-ARTICLE------0--">Protecting the Cattle</a>,” <em>Chrystal River Current</em>, October 9, 1886.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Leland E. Stuart, “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4519114">The Winter of 1886–1887: The Last of Whose 5,000?,”</a> <em>Montana: The Magazine of Western History </em>38, no. 1 (Winter 1988).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ansel Watrous, <em>The History of Larimer County, Colorado. </em>(Fort Collins: Old Army Press, 1911).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Laura Clark, “<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1887-blizzard-changed-american-frontier-forever-1-180953852/">The 1887 Blizzard That Changed the American Frontier Forever</a>,” <em>Smithsonian Magazine, </em>January 5, 2015.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:40:30 +0000 yongli 3541 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Cripple Creek Fires of 1896 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cripple-creek-fires-1896 <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Cripple Creek Fires of 1896 </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:37:11-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:37" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:37</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cripple-creek-fires-1896" data-a2a-title="Cripple Creek Fires of 1896 "><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcripple-creek-fires-1896&amp;title=Cripple%20Creek%20Fires%20of%201896%20"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>In April 1896, the mining town of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cripple-creek"><strong>Cripple Creek</strong></a> was devastated by two fires within four days. Frigid winter winds and scant water supply caused both fires to spread rapidly and created difficulty for volunteer firefighters who attempted to extinguish them. The fires leveled the central business district, causing an estimated $3 million in damages, and left roughly 5,000 residents to seek refuge on the hills above town, with only tents and blankets for shelter. While donations of food and supplies from <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a> helped displaced residents, it took the town almost a year to rebuild. Cripple Creek residents built back with sturdier brick buildings, many of which stand today, and implemented new practices for firefighting, which ensured that the 1896 blazes were the town’s last major fires.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Prosperous Gold Camp</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1890s, Cripple Creek became the site of the last and most prosperous <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>gold mining</strong></a> boom in Colorado. Located on the west side of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-peak"><strong>Pikes Peak</strong></a>, Cripple Creek grew significantly in 1893 as a direct result of the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, with former silver miners and investors seeking new opportunities in gold. By 1894 the Cripple Creek district had more than 150 mines, and annual production exceeded $3 million. The town’s growth continued with the arrival of two railroads in 1894–95. By 1896 the town’s population hit 10,000 people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite its prosperity, Cripple Creek retained the look of a hastily built mining camp. Many buildings were poorly constructed using wooden boards and shingles. Given the dry climate and surrounding forests, fire posed a constant threat.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The First Blaze</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Around 1 pm on April 25, 1896, fire broke out on the second floor of the Central Dance Hall on Myers Avenue in the middle of Cripple Creek’s central business district. The fire probably started when a gas stove was overturned, but it was unclear whether that resulted from a fight between a bartender and a prostitute or from a drunk woman kicking it over.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Volunteer firefighters rushed to the scene and managed to control the blaze for short time, but they were hampered by poor water pressure, bursting hoses, and small water mains. Within an hour, the water ran out, allowing the fire to consume several gambling dens and parlor houses on Myers Avenue. Firefighters resorted to demolishing other buildings with explosives in order to block the fire’s path, though several explosions were set off inadvertently because of dynamite and black powder stashes in buildings all over town.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The fire was finally extinguished around 5 pm, four hours after it started. More than 300 buildings lay in ruin—about one-third of the central business district—resulting in about $700,000 in property damage. Two people were confirmed dead.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Disaster Strikes Again</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Rebuilding started the next day and was well under way when disaster struck again on April 29, only ninety-six hours after the first fire had been extinguished. Again, the blaze started around 1 pm, when Frank Angel, head chef at the Portland Hotel, jostled a pan in the hotel kitchen. The pan splashed hot grease onto the stove, causing a flare-up that ignited the grease-soaked wallboards behind the stove. The flames spread rapidly through the kitchen and traveled up the stovepipe. The town did not have a traditional fire bell, so six shots were fired to raise the alarm, rousing several volunteer companies to the scene.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Strong winds caused the fire to jump from the Portland Hotel to the surrounding buildings. Within fifteen minutes, the blaze had traveled to the Booth Furniture Store on Myers Avenue, then continued to the El Paso Lumber Yard and the Harder Grocery Store. At the grocery store, the fire ignited 700 pounds of dynamite, worsening the blaze. Firefighting efforts were hindered by a lack of water; though hydrants were located throughout town, they relied on water from a creek-fed reservoir that was still dry from fighting the first fire.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>With the flames out of control, residents loaded wagons to flee to the outskirts of town. Some people charged up to $100 per load for desperate residents to use their wagons, but many were willing to pay the exorbitant fees to escape with their possessions. Refugees set up tents in the hills above town and watched as the flames were eventually extinguished hours after the fire had started. That night, looters returned to the smoldering ruins to steal whiskey and other valuables.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Damages</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The damage from the two fires was immense, estimated at a total of $3 million, with forty blocks of businesses destroyed. More than 1,000 houses were leveled, leaving some 5,000 residents homeless. At least six people were presumed to have died, but the exact number was unknown because some bodies were believed to have disintegrated in the blazes and explosions. Many other people suffered severe injuries.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>News of the disastrous blazes soon spread to the surrounding towns and cities. On the night of April 30, 1896, trains loaded with food and provisions, as well as building supplies, arrived to aid Cripple Creek residents. Rebuilding began immediately, though it took a year for construction to be completed.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite the disaster, few people left Cripple Creek. Some residents claimed that the fires were a blessing in disguise, allowing the town to be rebuilt with sturdy brick buildings while destroying many of the saloons and brothels that were believed to foster crime. In addition, the streets were paved and the water-supply problem was solved. Residents’ enthusiasm for rebuilding was probably rooted in all the gold that remained in the nearby hills; Cripple Creek mines ultimately yielded more than $400 million worth of gold, producing a new generation of Colorado mining millionaires.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cripple Creek’s new brick buildings and improved firefighting technology, such as new hydrants, allowed future fires to be more effectively contained and extinguished. Notable fires broke out in Cripple Creek businesses in 1898, 1919, and 1936, but none of them spread to the town as a whole.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today mining continues at the <strong>Cripple Creek &amp; Victor Gold Mine</strong>. Cripple Creek’s main draw, however, is its <strong>gambling</strong> industry, which started in the early 1990s as a way to save the town and generate revenue for <strong>historic preservation</strong>. The town’s historic appearance is still defined by the brick buildings put up in the aftermath of the 1896 fires. Now home to casinos, they stand as evidence of the resilience not only of the buildings themselves but also of the residents who built them after their lives were turned upside down by the disastrous blazes that nearly destroyed Cripple Creek.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kennedy-anna" hreflang="und">Kennedy, Anna</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cripple-creek" hreflang="en">Cripple Creek</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cripple-creek-district" hreflang="en">cripple creek district</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cripple-creek-gold-rush" hreflang="en">cripple creek gold rush</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-fires" hreflang="en">colorado fires</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“A City That Wouldn’t Die,” <em>Golden Transcript</em>, December 15, 1975.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Another Attempt to Fire the Camp,” <em>The Denver Post, </em>April 30, 1896.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Katie Rudolph, “<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/april-29-1896-fire-nearly-levels-cripple-creek">April 29, 1896: A Fire Nearly Levels Cripple Creek</a>,” Denver Public Library, April 25, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“The Two Great Fires: How Cripple Creek Was Completely Devastated and How the City Has Grown to Its Present Magnificent Proportions,” <em>Morning Times, </em>January 1, 1898.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Dick Kreck, <em>Denver in Flames: Forging a New Mile High City </em>(Golden: Fulcrum Publishing, 2000).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:37:11 +0000 yongli 3540 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Hastings Mine Explosion http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/hastings-mine-explosion <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Hastings Mine Explosion</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:21:41-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:21" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:21</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/hastings-mine-explosion" data-a2a-title="Hastings Mine Explosion"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fhastings-mine-explosion&amp;title=Hastings%20Mine%20Explosion"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The Hastings Mine Explosion was the deadliest mining disaster in Colorado history. Caused by the misguided striking of a match in the Hastings coal mine north of <strong>Trinidad</strong> on April 27, 1917, the blast killed 121 coal miners; one other worker died of overexertion while trying to recover the bodies. Even in an era when mine accidents were tragically common, the number of casualties in the Hastings blast was extraordinary, reflecting the high human cost of one of the state’s most profitable industries.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As was typical in mining disasters of the early twentieth century, the victims of the Hastings explosion were mostly European immigrants and from other marginalized groups, indicating the type of people that Colorado’s business community and public were willing to sacrifice in order to have warm homes and a robust economy. Disasters like the Hastings Explosion, which is generally left out of Colorado history books, remind today’s Coloradans that economic prosperity often comes with a human toll that is not always visible.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Background</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Coal was Colorado’s most important commodity in the early twentieth century. It fueled the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>gold- and silver-mining industries</strong></a>, propelled railroads, heated brick kilns for construction, and warmed hundreds of homes in cities such as <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>. In 1917 Colorado had 238 coal mines operating throughout the state, most of which were divided between three companies: <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-fuel-iron"><strong>Colorado Fuel and Iron</strong></a>, the <strong>Rocky Mountain Fuel Company</strong>, and <strong>Victor American Fuel Company</strong>. That year, the state’s coal mines produced a total of some 12.5 million tons of coal, an increase of nearly 2 million tons from the previous year.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Working in coal mines was dirty and dangerous. Even in the 1910s, when strikes and violent labor conflicts such as the <a href="/article/ludlow-massacre"><strong>Ludlow Massacre</strong></a> rocked the state’s coalfields, workers had made minimal gains in either pay or workplace safety. They still worked up to twelve hours a day, six days a week. They inhaled coal dust all day long, which led to the devastating respiratory disease known as black lung. Mine shafts could collapse or flood. Rockslides and fires were also common; in 1917 the state mine inspector reported that sixty-six miners died from routine accidents, including “falls of rock, falls of coal, mine cars and motors, explosives,” and “electricity.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition, methane and other flammable gases released from coal beds often built up in the mines. Each morning an inspector had to check the air quality with safety lamps before work could begin; flames in safety lamps burned differently when held close to flammable gases. If mine inspection was not done properly, explosions could occur, such as when the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jokerville-mine-explosion"><strong>Jokerville Mine exploded</strong></a> near <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crested-butte"><strong>Crested Butte</strong></a> in 1884 or when the <strong>Vulcan Mine</strong> in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/garfield-county"><strong>Garfield County</strong></a> blew up three times between 1896 and 1918.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Hastings Mine</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Coal mining near Hastings, in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/las-animas-county"><strong>Las Animas County</strong></a>, began in the 1870s, and expanded after a rail connection arrived in 1889. A second seam of the coal mine was opened in 1912. Although productive, the mine was known to be volatile; in his report on the Hastings explosion, US Bureau of Mines inspector C. A. Herbert noted that “large quantities of gas are given off at all times from both the floor and coal.” This hazard led to several blasts at the mine before 1917, prompting the company to install “fans and air chutes sufficiently that it was thought to be safe.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Explosion and Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>For reasons still unknown, around 9:30 am on the snowy morning of April 17, 1917, Hastings Mine inspector David H. Reese took apart his safety lamp and struck a match to relight it, “causing an explosion that spread with great violence throughout almost the entire mine.” Incredibly, despite the size of the blast, “not a sound was heard outside.” Although up to 125 were feared dead, officials held out hope that some miners had survived the blast.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Recovery of bodies was a slow process that took many days, owing to the dangerous conditions that lingered in the mine. It soon became clear from these conditions, which included, according to the deputy state inspector of coal mines, “destruction of stoppings and falls of rock . . . and all the workings below the fourth north being full of gas,” that there would be no survivors. The first body was brought out of the mine around 9 am on April 28; the body of mine inspector David H. Reese was not pulled out until May 10. Gathering the bodies was no easy task, as shown by the death of rescue worker Walter Kerr, who died of heart failure while carrying a body out of the mine (Kerr’s family was awarded compensation in the amount of $8 per week for six years).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The majority of the 121 miners killed were Austrian, Greek, Black, Italian, Mexican, or Polish, and most were between the ages of twenty and forty. In the days after the blast, a shaken crowd of hundreds gathered around the wrecked mine, including wives and children of the deceased. Newspapers related the shock and grief of those who lost loved ones. Wrote the <em>Montrose Daily Press</em>, “Up the snowclad hill trudged at intervals thru [<em>sic</em>] the day a long line of figures, mourning women in whose hearts the spark of hope had died.” The wife and daughter of a Mexican miner sat nearly motionless outside the mine for hours, peering into the blackness, their faces twisted with “the fear and the longing, and the sadness that shown in their big liquid brown eyes.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Near Reese’s body, which was notably untouched by flame or “violence,” was the inspector’s disassembled safety lamp. Twenty-two matches were found in Reese’s pocket, according to the deputy state inspector’s report, and “matches and tobacco” were reportedly removed from other bodies as well. These details shocked mining officials; matches were not supposed to be allowed in such a volatile mine, and it was the inspector’s job to search miners for them. Moreover, Reese was a highly regarded inspector who knew well the risks of open flames in mines; he had overseen a rescue effort after a smaller explosion at the Hastings in 1912. To this day, nobody has offered a plausible explanation for Reese’s flouting of such obvious safety protocols.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The state of Colorado began a workmen’s compensation program in 1915. Program records from the years after the Hastings blast show that at least sixteen families of the miners were each paid $75 for funeral expenses. As a result of his tragic mistake, the state reduced compensation to Reese’s family by 50 percent.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Industrial disasters such as the Hastings explosion reveal the true costs of cheap energy in Colorado, a problem that has not gone away. Today’s oil and gas industry is reliant not on coal but on <strong>hydraulic fracturing</strong>, or fracking, a controversial drilling process that produces a wealth of energy but also can cause negative health effects in surrounding communities. In addition, although they are not as common as they were in early twentieth-century coal mines, industrial accidents on fracking sites still happen relatively frequently. The sacrifices made by those workers as well as residents near oil and gas developments allow everyone in the state to have cheap energy in the twenty-first century.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hastings-mine" hreflang="en">hastings mine</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hastings-mine-explosion" hreflang="en">hastings mine explosion</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mining-disasters" hreflang="en">mining disasters</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal-mining" hreflang="en">coal mining</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal" hreflang="en">coal</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/las-animas-county" hreflang="en">Las Animas County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/victor-american-fuel-company" hreflang="en">victor american fuel company</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal-mining-colorado" hreflang="en">coal mining in colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=MDP19170430-01.2.13&amp;e=--1917---1917--en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-hastings+explosion-------0-----">117 Bodies Are Found in Wrecked Mine; Rescuers Think Three Still Alive</a>,” <em>Montrose Daily Press</em>, April 30, 1917.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=MPT19170525.2.111&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-Hastings+mine+explosion+Reese+lamp-------0-----">Blast Caused by Lamp</a>,” <em>Middle Park Times</em>, May 25, 1917.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=MDP19170428-01.2.2&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=--1917---1917--en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-hastings+explosion-------0-----">Coal Mine Horror at Trinidad May Claim 125 Men</a>,” <em>Montrose Daily Press</em>, April 28, 1917.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James Dalrymple, <a href="https://spl.cde.state.co.us/artemis/nrserials/nr930010internet/nr9300101917internet.pdf"><em>Fifth Annual Report of the State Inspector of Coal Mines—1917</em></a> (Denver: Eames Brothers, 1917).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Industrial Commission of Colorado, “<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112108137081&amp;view=1up&amp;seq=11">First Report of the Industrial Commission of Colorado: August 1, 1915 to December 1, 1917</a>,” 1917.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephanie Kirchgaessner, “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/fires-explosions-front-range-residents-fracking-colorado-climate">Fires, Explosions and Toxic Releases: Front Range Residents Fight Fracking Boom</a>,” <em>Guardian</em>, October 10, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jesse Paul, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/27/hastings-mine-explosion-1917-colorado-history/">A 1917 Coal Mine Explosion in Southern Colorado Killed 121. But It’s Just a Faint Memory in the State’s History</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, April 27, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kathy Weiser-Alexander, “<a href="https://www.legendsofamerica.com/hastings-colorado/">Hastings, Colorado and the Worst Mining Accident</a>,” Legends of America, August 2018.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Thomas G. Andrews, <em>Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War </em>(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2020).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:21:41 +0000 yongli 3538 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Vulcan Mine Explosions http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/vulcan-mine-explosions <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Vulcan Mine Explosions</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-08T15:47:21-07:00" title="Monday, February 8, 2021 - 15:47" class="datetime">Mon, 02/08/2021 - 15:47</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/vulcan-mine-explosions" data-a2a-title="Vulcan Mine Explosions"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fvulcan-mine-explosions&amp;title=Vulcan%20Mine%20Explosions"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Between 1896 and 1918, the Vulcan Mine in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/garfield-county"><strong>Garfield County</strong></a> exploded three times, killing a total of eighty-five workers. The successive blasts prompted action from labor unions and politicians to make coal mines safer. At the site of the Vulcan Mine today, there remains an active underground coal fire that was lit in the mine’s first explosion on February 18, 1896. It is one of more than two dozen active coal fires in the area of <strong>New Castle</strong>, which all began in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Origins</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the 1890s, Garfield County was a hub of coal production in Colorado. By 1896 ten coal mines operated throughout the county, employing more than 450 workers. As early as 1893, the <strong>Atchison, Topeka &amp; Santa Fe Railroad</strong> (ATSF) owned and operated the Vulcan Mine near present-day New Castle, along the Colorado Midland Railway about two miles south of the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-river"><strong>Colorado River</strong></a>. The local industry’s nexus was <strong>Carbondale</strong>, an aptly named rail town north of <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/aspen"><strong>Aspen</strong></a>. In mines like the Vulcan, miners from Sweden, Austria, Great Britain, Mexico, and a dozen other nations worked fourteen- to sixteen-hour days in dangerous conditions for paltry wages paid in scrip, a kind of company cash that was valid only at company stores. The company stores were often the lone source of food and supplies in the area, ensuring that most wages were returned to the company.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>These grievances often led to strikes, like the one that occurred at the Vulcan Mine in October 1893, and prompted miners to join unions such as the <a href="/article/western-federation-miners"><strong>Western Federation of Miners</strong></a> (WFM) or the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/united-mine-workers-america"><strong>United Mine Workers of America</strong></a> (UMWA).</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Safety at the Vulcan Mine</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Coal seams naturally emit methane, a flammable gas. In the 1890s, inspectors checked coal mines daily for signs of gas buildup, including odors and dead animals. Miners also used Davy Lamps, long-wicked lamps that prevented gas buildup by burning it. But these precautions could not avert every disaster; in 1884 the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jokerville-mine-explosion"><strong>Jokerville Mine</strong></a> in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crested-butte"><strong>Crested Butte</strong></a> blew up after miners were given the postinspection all-clear.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To avoid explosions, miners and managers also used a process called dampening, in which water was sprayed in mines to remove flammable coal dust from the air. If dampening was not done, the air could ignite, leading to an explosion if methane was present.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During an ATSF inspection at the Vulcan Mine on September 20, 1895, foreman James Harrison was “satisfied that everything was well conditioned.” He observed the mine to be “well timbered” and was optimistic that an additional ventilation fan, installed in October, would improve the mine’s air quality and safety. It appeared to have helped; even after the deadly explosion the next year, state mining inspector David Griffiths wrote that he considered the mine to be “in good and safe condition, and there was no accumulation of gas and dust.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>First Explosion</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>No matter how safe managers thought the Vulcan to be, the mine proved otherwise for the first time on February 18, 1896. At 11:27 am, an earth-shaking explosion killed all forty-nine men at work that day, including Harrison and miners from nine different nations. state mine inspector Griffiths knew the time of the explosion in part because “on the body of one of the men a watch was found that had evidently stopped instantly, owing to the violence of the explosion.” Describing the aftermath, Griffiths wrote, “every man in the mine died instantly . . . the fans located on the surface . . . were blown to pieces,” and “every wooden stopping and door in the mine was broken . . . shattered like matchwood.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although there were several theories about why the mine exploded, Griffiths could not pinpoint the exact cause and was not convinced it could have been prevented. In his annual report for 1896–97, he advocated for new laws “for the health and safety of our miners.” He recommended the appointment of a board expressly for that purpose, with equal representation for miners and management. It is not known whether Griffiths’s suggestions affected state policy, but by 1901 the state did have a “legislative investigating committee” that traveled to coal fields where labor disputes were ongoing or imminent.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Second Explosion</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the 1896 blast, the ATSF leased the Vulcan and the rest of its mines to <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-fuel-iron"><strong>Colorado Fuel and Iron</strong></a> (CF&amp;I), one of the largest coal producers in the nation. By 1913 the Vulcan was being operated by the Coryell Mine Leasing Company. That year, on December 16, another explosion at the mine took the lives of thirty-seven workers. Unlike the first explosion, gas was not part of the cause; state mine inspector James Dalrymple found that “flame and dust” were to blame. Although he found fault in workers’ use of open lamps at the tops of the chutes, Dalrymple concluded that operators had violated mining-law provisions calling for proper dampening.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>More than a year later, a coroner’s jury agreed, ruling that “the explosion was due to negligence of the mine owners,” who did not keep the “mine property properly sprinkled to prevent the accumulation of dust.” In March 1914, the Coryell Company agreed to pay $1,000 to the families of each of the victims. Eventually, the <strong>Rocky Mountain Fuel Company</strong>, CF&amp;I’s chief rival in the state’s coal industry, acquired the Vulcan Mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Third Explosion</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The final deadly blast in the history of the Vulcan Mine occurred at 7:30 pm on November 4, 1918. Three men—Robert Wilkes, Cad Davis, and Milton Bell—were killed, and four others were injured. The large explosion came after workers had been cleaning and repairing various parts of the mine that had been damaged in several smaller explosions. This time, the mine was too dangerous for deputy state mine inspector James Graham to enter, so he had to rely on the accounts of witnesses, most prominently mine foreman Morgan Williams. After receiving Williams’s statement, Graham concluded that “the accident was caused by an accumulation of explosive gases in Rooms 22 to 26 coming in contact with fire.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The mine was sealed off after the deadly blast, but it kept exploding “at intervals of several hours.” After claiming the lives of eighty-nine men in three major explosions and causing countless other injuries, the volatile Vulcan Mine was closed for good. Coal production in general began to decline during this period, as the metal mining industry it served also tapered off. Oil eventually replaced coal as the dominant energy source in the state.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The reopening of the Vulcan Mine after the first and second deadly explosions shows that Colorado’s coal mine operators truly had little regard for miner safety; if they did, they would have provided better ventilation and reconsidered practices like the pay-by-weight policy, which paid miners per ton of coal mined instead of time. The result of this was that miners spent more time digging coal instead of shoring up safety features or paying attention to warning signs of explosions. Labor unions such as the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) consistently listed the weight payment system as a grievance during strikes. Eventually, unions won abolition of this system, even though hundreds of miners had already died in accidents and explosions.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Vulcan Mine explosions also helped make the modern landscape around New Castle. Even though its mines have not operated for nearly a century, the area is still the site of some two dozen underground coal fires, lit by explosions in the coal industry’s heyday. These burns, which can be identified by the lack of snow in certain areas during winter, are normally self-contained but can sometimes erupt into bigger blazes; in 2002 a fire sparked by a burning coal seam destroyed thirty houses in New Castle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Vulcan explosions also help track the evolution of mine safety and labor history. As the nineteenth century moved into the twentieth, procedures like dampening became part of state mining law, and more workers joined labor unions that called for increased corporate responsibility for miners’ safety. The massive casualties of explosions at the Vulcan and other coal mines show why labor unions became so popular. They also tally with the high price Coloradans paid for cheap coal in the early twentieth century.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/vulcan-mine" hreflang="en">vulcan mine</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/vulcan-mine-explosion" hreflang="en">vulcan mine explosion</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/garfield-county" hreflang="en">Garfield County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/new-castle" hreflang="en">new castle</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-fuel-iron" hreflang="en">colorado fuel &amp; iron</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/western-slope" hreflang="en">Western Slope</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/energy-development" hreflang="en">energy development</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal" hreflang="en">coal</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal-mines" hreflang="en">coal mines</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/labor-unions" hreflang="en">labor unions</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/labor-history" hreflang="en">labor history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/strikes" hreflang="en">strikes</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mine-explosions" hreflang="en">mine explosions</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mining" hreflang="en">mining</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Cyccommute, “<a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vulcan-mine-disasters#:~:text=The%20mine%20is%20on%20private,Main%20Street%20in%20New%20Castle.">Vulcan Mine</a>,” <em>Atlas Obscura</em>, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James Dalrymple, <a href="https://spl.cde.state.co.us/artemis/nrserials/nr930010internet/nr9300101913internet.pdf"><em>First Annual Report of the State Inspector of Coal Mines: 1913</em></a> (Denver: Smith-Brooks Printing, 1914).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James E. Fell and Eric Twitty, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/media/document/2017/651.pdf">The Mining Industry in Colorado</a>,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 2008.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James Graham, “Report on Explosion at Vulcan Mine, Garfield County, Colorado, November 4, 1918,” in <a href="https://spl.cde.state.co.us/artemis/nrserials/nr930010internet/nr9300101918internet.pdf"><em>Sixth Annual Report of the Inspector of Coal Mines of the State of Colorado: 1918</em></a> (Denver: Eames Brothers, 1919).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David Griffiths, <a href="https://spl.cde.state.co.us/artemis/nrserials/nr930010internet/nr930010189596internet.pdf"><em>Seventh Biennial Report of the Inspector of Coal Mines of the State of Colorado, 1895–1896</em></a> (Denver: Smith-Brooks Printing Co., 1897).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=DEI19140109-01.2.35&amp;srpos=9&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22vulcan+mine%22-------0-----">Jury Blames Negligence for Vulcan Mine Disaster</a>,” <em>Delta Independent</em>, January 9, 1914.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>New Castle, Colorado, “<a href="https://www.newcastlecolorado.org/community/page/new-castle-heritage">New Castle Heritage</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19010126-01.2.6&amp;srpos=2&amp;e=--1897---1902--en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22coal+commission%22-------0-----">No Coal Strike Down South</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, January 26, 1901.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Luke Runyon, “<a href="https://www.kunc.org/arts-life/2014-08-01/new-castles-coal-legacy-smolders-under-burning-mountain">New Castle’s Coal Legacy Smolders Under Burning Mountain</a>,” KUNC, August 1, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=MPT19140327.2.14&amp;srpos=10&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22vulcan+mine%22-------0-----">Widows of 37 Killed at Vulcan Mine to Be Paid $1,000 Each</a>,” <em>Middle Park Times</em>, March 27, 1914.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Amy Zimmer, “<a href="https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/resource-sharing/state-pubs-blog/time-machine-tuesday-the-vulcan-mine-explosion/">Time Machine Tuesday: The Vulcan Mine Explosion</a>,” Colorado State Publications Blog, Colorado Virtual Library, June 16, 2015.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Dale Shrull, <em>The Legend of the Burning Mountain: An Early History of New Castle</em> (Glenwood Springs, CO: Stoney Mountain, 2000).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 08 Feb 2021 22:47:21 +0000 yongli 3528 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Last Chance Fire http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/last-chance-fire <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Last Chance Fire</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3474--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3474.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/last-chance-colorado"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Last-chance_0_0.jpg?itok=xrBenrWP" width="600" height="335" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/last-chance-colorado" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Last Chance, Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The tiny town of Last Chance is located at the intersection of US Highway 36 and State Highway 71 in eastern Colorado. In 2012 a devastating wildfire ripped through the area, destroying several buildings and homes.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-01-21T13:52:05-07:00" title="Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 13:52" class="datetime">Thu, 01/21/2021 - 13:52</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/last-chance-fire" data-a2a-title="Last Chance Fire"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Flast-chance-fire&amp;title=Last%20Chance%20Fire"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The Last Chance Fire started on June 25, 2012, when sparks from a motorist’s flat tire set the prairie ablaze near the town of Last Chance in eastern Colorado. The fire was 100 percent contained in nearly twenty-four hours, but in that time the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wildfire-colorado"><strong>wildfire</strong></a> scorched 45,000 acres and destroyed several houses. Today, the Last Chance Fire serves as a reminder that under the right conditions, destructive fires can erupt anywhere in the state, not just in dense mountain forests.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>2012 Fire Season</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Thanks to below-average winter snowpack and a hot, dry spring, Colorado endured a brutal 2012 fire season. By May, 100 percent of the state was in drought; by season’s end, nearly 1,500 fires had destroyed 246,000 acres across the state. Among the worst blazes were the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/waldo-canyon-fire"><strong>Waldo Canyon Fire</strong></a>, which killed two people near <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>, and the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/high-park-fire"><strong>High Park Fire</strong></a>, which killed one person and torched more than 87,000 acres in <a href="/article/larimer-county"><strong>Larimer County</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As both those fires burned, rural <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/washington-county"><strong>Washington County</strong></a> on Colorado’s eastern <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>plains</strong></a> was experiencing its highest temperatures in nearly six decades. Fire danger was exacerbated by cheatgrass, an invasive species of prairie grass that grows and reproduces faster than native grasses. Wagons and railroads brought the Eurasian grass to Colorado in the early twentieth century. Since then, it has conquered vast swaths of the eastern Colorado plains. The cheatgrass in the Last Chance area was about twenty inches high when it dried out earlier than usual in 2012, creating huge fields of fire fuel. By June 25, the mountains were already burning, and the prairie was primed.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ignition, Destruction, and Containment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On the hot afternoon of June 25, 2012, a motorist got a flat tire while driving on State Highway 71, just south of the tiny town of Last Chance. The driver pulled to the side of the road, where sparks flew from the afflicted wheel and lit a fire in the grass. The motorist got a shovel and attempted to smother the flames with dirt, but they quickly skipped across the brittle cheatgrass and got out of control.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Within hours, the fire burned more than 1,500 acres and forced the nearby community of Last Chance to evacuate. The Red Cross set up an evacuation area at Akron High School, while ranchers scrambled to move cattle out of the fire’s searing path. Farmers jumped on tractors and plowed their own fire lines through fields.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>More than 100 firefighters from over a dozen districts and agencies quickly joined the suppression effort. They were hard-pressed to keep up with the fire, but they managed to get it 50 percent contained by 10 pm. By the end of that first day, the blaze had exploded to more than 38,000 acres, consumed four houses, and cut power to residents in the southern half of Washington County.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The fire had grown another 7,000 acres by the time crews achieved full containment the next day.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Most of the eleven structures destroyed by the fire were already abandoned, though several families were left to sift through the wreckage of their houses. Ranchers and farmers quickly got to work rebuilding fences and other structures, but their main concern was the massive loss of pasture that put livestock at risk of starvation for the rest of the season. In the weeks after the fire, local residents helped one another by offering shelter for livestock and people and helping fire crews with cleanup.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although it was overshadowed by larger and deadlier blazes to the west, the Last Chance Fire serves as a reminder that destructive conflagrations pose as much of a threat to prairie residents as they do to those in the mountains. It also points to the problem of invasive cheatgrass, some 120 years after its introduction. Cheatgrass is known to have large bursts of early-season growth after even a small amount of rain. The rising average temperatures, more intense rainstorms, and earlier and longer droughts that accompany climate change mean cheatgrass is likely to grow taller and dry out faster, increasing the chance of intense grass burns.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition, recent research has shown that some severely burned forests are coming back as grasslands, meaning that prairie blazes like the Last Chance Fire will likely be more common in the future.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/last-chance" hreflang="en">last chance</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/washington-county" hreflang="en">washington county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/last-chance-fire" hreflang="en">last chance fire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wildfire" hreflang="en">wildfire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-wildfires" hreflang="en">colorado wildfires</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/2012" hreflang="en">2012</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-plains" hreflang="en">Great Plains</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/prairie" hreflang="en">prairie</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/26/colorado-wildfire-last-chance-fire-100-percent-contained/">Colorado Wildfire: Last Chance Fire 100 Percent Contained</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 26, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jenni Grubbs, “<a href="https://www.julesburgadvocate.com/2012/06/27/last-chance-fire-second-largest-in-colorado-this-summer/">Last Chance Fire Second Largest in Colorado This Summer</a>,” <em>Fort Morgan Times </em>(via <em>Julesburg Advocate</em>), June 27, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John Ingold, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/26/colorado-wildfire-last-chance-residents-stand-tall-after-huge-wildfire/">Colorado Wildfire: Last Chance, Residents Stand Tall After Huge Wildfire</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 26, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Kodas, <em>Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame </em>(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.brushnewstribune.com/2012/06/26/last-chance-wildfire-cuts-close-to-home/">Last Chance Wildfire Cuts Close to Home</a>,” <em>Brush News-Tribune</em>, June 26, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>National Interagency Fire Center, “<a href="https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/intelligence/2012_statssumm/fires_acres.pdf">Historical Year-End Fire Statistics by State (2012)</a>,” updated 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kyle C. Rodman, et al., “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/geb.13174">A Changing Climate Is Snuffing out Post-fire Recovery in Montane Forests</a>,” <em>Global Ecology and Biogeography</em> 29, no. 9 (September 2020).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Wendy Ryan and Nolan Doesken, “<a href="https://climate.colostate.edu/pdfs/drought_2012.pdf">Drought of 2012 in Colorado</a>,” Colorado Climate Center, Colorado State University, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sarah Simmons, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/25/colorado-wildfire-38400-acre-blaze-burning-at-last-chance/">Colorado Wildfire: 38,400 Acre Blaze Burning at Last Chance</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 25, 2012.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><em>The Denver Post</em>, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdOI6m1X0Yw">Last Chance Fire: Home Burned to the Ground</a>,” YouTube, June 26, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Prendergast and Nathan Federico, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/photos-last-chance-colorado-barely-endures-ravages-of-time-and-fire-5902834">Photos: Last Chance, Colorado, Barely Endures Ravages of Time and Fire</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, July 18, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Pyne, <em>Fire: A Brief History</em>, 2nd ed. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Pyne, <em>The Interior West: A Fire Survey </em>(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:52:05 +0000 yongli 3473 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Jokerville Mine Explosion http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jokerville-mine-explosion <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Jokerville Mine Explosion</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-01-21T13:35:31-07:00" title="Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 13:35" class="datetime">Thu, 01/21/2021 - 13:35</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jokerville-mine-explosion" data-a2a-title="Jokerville Mine Explosion"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fjokerville-mine-explosion&amp;title=Jokerville%20Mine%20Explosion"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>On January 24, 1884, the Jokerville Mine outside of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crested-butte"><strong>Crested Butte</strong></a> was full of methane gas and exploded, killing fifty-nine workers. As the third-deadliest mine disaster in Colorado history, the Jokerville explosion demonstrated the dangers of coal mining, even as coal was an essential industry for the state at the time. Over time, disasters like Jokerville helped convince Colorado miners to embrace unions such as the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-federation-miners"><strong>Western Federation of Miners</strong></a>, which started organizing in the state in the 1890s.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Coal Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crested Butte began in 1878 as a supply depot for the silver mines of <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gunnison-county"><strong>Gunnison County</strong></a>. In 1880, though, high-quality coal beds were found nearby, the kind that could produce coke—a higher-carbon, hotter-burning fuel. Industrialist <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-jackson-palmer"><strong>William Jackson Palmer</strong></a> had just formed Colorado Coal and Iron (CC&amp;I), the predecessor to the goliath <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-fuel-iron"><strong>Colorado Fuel and Iron</strong></a>, and he saw Crested Butte’s coal as an integral part of his plan to open a steelworks in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pueblo"><strong>Pueblo</strong></a>. Palmer extended his Denver &amp; Rio Grande Railroad to Crested Butte, and in 1881 the remote mountain outpost became a booming coal town.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Jokerville Mine</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 24, 1881, CC&amp;I opened the Crested Butte Mine about one mile west of town. By September it was known as the Jokerville Mine and was among the most productive in the area. By 1883 it boasted fifty coke ovens, where the raw coal was superheated into coke. That coke was hauled off by rail to Pueblo, where it powered the creation of steel.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Working in coal mines like the Jokerville was dirty and dangerous. Miners inhaled coal dust all day long, which led to the devastating respiratory disease known as black lung. Shafts could collapse or flood. Flammable methane gas released from coal beds often built up in the mines, and each morning an inspector had to check the air quality before work could begin.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Miners braved all these hazards for twelve to fourteen hours and two dollars a day. Even children worked the mine—the youngest employees at the Jokerville were two twelve-year-olds, William Neath and Tommy Lyle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During a routine inspection in December 1883, state mine inspector John McNeil observed that the mine appeared to be “well ventilated” and “everything was in proper order”—though he still considered “the Crested Butte mine a very dangerous one.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Explosion</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On the frigid morning of January 24, 1884, fire boss Luke Richardson finished his daily inspection of the Jokerville Mine. He found the mine clear of gas except for one chamber—number eighteen, on the second level. Richardson told the miners it was safe to go to work even though the partition in the gassy chamber had to be repaired to prevent buildup in the rest of the mine. Workers had already begun their shifts as Richardson left to get materials for the repair.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>It was then that Richardson heard the sickening sound of a blast that shredded the mine entrance. The explosion instantly killed the two boys who worked near the mine opening, as well as Neath’s older brother, seventeen-year-old Morgan Neath.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thinking the explosion was much smaller than it was, Richardson ran into the mine with his lamp and immediately came across the body of another worker, John Rutherford. Then, ten more workers came struggling out of the deeper reaches of the mine; they survived the blast but were choking on the “after-damp”—gas that lingered after the explosion. All ten made it out safely, including worker John Angus, who had been injured in the blast. The other survivors set to work repairing the ventilation fan damaged by the explosion; nobody could enter the mine to recover bodies until the toxic air was cleared.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>When Colorado mine inspector McNeil arrived the next day, he took control of the cleanup and recovery of the dead. On the mine’s first level, he encountered a grisly scene:</p>&#13; &#13; <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Some of the bodies on the main level . . . had been exposed to the full force of the blast, and in several cases arms and legs were found broken and bodies otherwise battered by being thrown against the jagged walls.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Moving past the “carcasses of nine mules,” McNeil followed the air-intake route deeper into the mine and found “eighteen of the missing bodies huddled and piled in little groups in indiscriminate confusion.” McNeil observed that the “men had evidently been making their escape before the deadly after-damp checked their attempt, when but a few hundred feet from air.” It took nearly a week to recover all fifty-nine bodies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When he heard of the blast, Palmer, the mine’s owner, immediately sent a telegram with $1,000 to be divided among the families of the deceased miners. The company also paid for transportation and burial of the bodies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>McNeil’s interviews with survivors suggested that the blast was the result of at least some negligence on the part of Richardson, the fire boss. Garvin Dickson, a twenty-four-year coal mining veteran, said that John Anderson, the miner working in the gas-filled chamber the morning of January 24, “did not know much about gas.” Still, Richardson allowed Anderson to attempt the repairs to the chamber partition, according to Dickson. This contradicted Richardson’s own story that he was just getting his tools to make the repairs when the explosion happened.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In his final inspection statement, McNeil wrote that he thought “there had been carelessness to cause such an accident, but could not locate it; it is difficult for the most expert miner to locate carelessness after an explosion.” He further noted that “if Anderson had allowed the fire-boss to have preceded him [into the mine], the fire-boss . . . would have done the self-same thing . . . thus the accident might have happened at the fire-boss’ hands.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The explosion shuttered the Jokerville Mine for a year, until another entrance was dug out about a half-mile west of the blown-out one. The mine remained productive through 1891, when a labor strike disrupted activities. The mine closed in 1895 after a larger coal seam was found nearby.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The explosion garnered national attention, with in-depth articles published in the <em>New York Times </em>and <em>Harper’s</em>, but neither the media coverage nor McNeil’s report spurred any reforms of a dangerous industry.  Accidents like the Jokerville blast, though unfortunate, were generally acknowledged to be part of the risk of mining at the time. The danger of such disasters did, however, play a role in making miners more open to unions that started organizing in Colorado mining towns at the end of the nineteenth century.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the early 1990s, Crested Butte residents put up a plaque with an incomplete list of the names of the miners killed in the disaster. In September 2017, the town placed a new granite memorial in the Crested Butte cemetery with the full list of fallen miners.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, the Jokerville Mine disaster is a reminder that men, and sometimes boys, often paid the ultimate price for an industry that powered railroads, smelters, steelworks, and even heated homes in Denver. In this way, modern Colorado was born out of the daily sacrifices of coal miners throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jokerville-mine" hreflang="en">jokerville mine</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jokerville-mine-explosion" hreflang="en">jokerville mine explosion</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal-mining" hreflang="en">coal mining</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/crested-butte" hreflang="en">crested butte</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/william-jackson-palmer" hreflang="en">william jackson palmer</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal-miners" hreflang="en">coal miners</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal" hreflang="en">coal</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mine-disasters-monday" hreflang="en">mine disasters Monday</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/october-5" hreflang="en">October 5</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/2020" hreflang="en">2020 -</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/crested_butte_news.pdf">A Coal-Mining Horror</a>,” <em>New York Times</em>, January 25, 1884.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Charles Graham, “The Disaster at Crested Butte, Colorado,” <em>Harper's Magazine</em>, February 16, 1884.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Gunnison County Libraries, “<a href="https://steamboatlibrary.marmot.org/Archive/gunnison%3A3117/LargeImage">Jokerville Mine Explosion Memorial</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John McNeil, “<a href="https://spl.cde.state.co.us/artemis/nrserials/nr930010internet/nr9300101884internet.pdf">Crested Butte Disaster</a>,” in <em>First Annual Report of the State Inspector of Coal Mines, Year Ending July 31, 1884</em> (Denver: Collier &amp; Cleaveland, 1885).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Steelworks Center of the West, “<a href="https://scalar.usc.edu/works/mines-of-the-colorado-fuel-and-iron-company/jokerville-coal-mine">Jokerville Coal Mine</a>,” updated April 14, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Toni Todd, “<a href="https://crestedbuttenews.com/2017/08/crested-butte-looks-to-commemorate-the-jokerville-miners/">Crested Butte Looks to Commemorate the Jokerville Miners</a>,” <em>Crested Butte News</em>, August 2, 2017.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Thomas G. Andrews, <em>Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War</em> (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Duane A. Smith, <em>Crested Butte: From Coal Camp to Ski Town</em> (Ouray, CO: Western Reflections, 2005).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:35:31 +0000 yongli 3472 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org East Troublesome Fire http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/east-troublesome-fire <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">East Troublesome Fire</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3462--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3462.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/smoke-plume-east-troublesome-fire"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Home_20201020_0009_0.jpg?itok=CGfBflUj" width="1090" height="728" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/smoke-plume-east-troublesome-fire" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Smoke Plume From East Troublesome Fire</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A smoke plume from the <a href="/article/east-troublesome-fire"><strong>East Troublesome Fire</strong></a> in <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/grand-county">Grand County</a>,</strong> as seen from <b>Loveland</b> on October 20, 2020. The next day, the northern <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> was shrouded in smoke as the fire went on a 100,000-acre run toward <strong>Estes Park</strong>.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3458--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3458.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/east-troublesome-fire-smoke-plumes"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/2020_10_19-20.33.34_0.png?itok=ZvskDl33" width="673" height="463" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/east-troublesome-fire-smoke-plumes" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">East Troublesome Fire Smoke Plumes</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The East Troublesome Fire ignited east of Troublesome Creek in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/grand-county"><strong>Grand County</strong></a> on October 14, 2020. One week later, high winds whipped the blaze across more than 100,000 acres in one day, the largest single-day run by a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wildfire-colorado"><strong>wildfire</strong></a> in state history.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3461--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3461.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/east-troublesome-fire-map-october-23-2020"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/InciWebTroublesomeFire10-23-20_0_0.jpg?itok=rkNmWchp" width="1028" height="490" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/east-troublesome-fire-map-october-23-2020" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">East Troublesome Fire Map, October 23, 2020</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Map showing the extent of the <a href="/article/east-troublesome-fire"><strong>East Troublesome Fire</strong></a> on October 23, 2020. The map shows the huge eastward run the fire made on October 21-22, making it one of the top-five largest fires in state history. It also shows the spot fire across the <a href="/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a> that prompted evacuations from <strong>Estes Park</strong> on October 22.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/nick-johnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Nick Johnson</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-10-22T21:05:12-06:00" title="Thursday, October 22, 2020 - 21:05" class="datetime">Thu, 10/22/2020 - 21:05</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/east-troublesome-fire" data-a2a-title="East Troublesome Fire"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Feast-troublesome-fire&amp;title=East%20Troublesome%20Fire"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>One of the most destructive <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wildfire-colorado">wildfire</a></strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wildfire-colorado"><strong>s</strong></a> in Colorado history, the East Troublesome Fire began on October 14, 2020, in the central <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a> east of Troublesome Creek in <a href="/article/grand-county"><strong>Grand County</strong></a>. A week later, high winds whipped the fire into a 100,000-acre inferno racing northeast through <strong>Grand Lake</strong> and into <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountain-national-park"><strong>Rocky Mountain National Park</strong></a>. By the time snows and colder temperatures halted the fire in late October, it had killed two people, destroyed more than 400 houses and other structures, and burned 193,812 acres, making it the second-largest fire in state history. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>The fire is believed to be human-caused but remains under investigation. Parts of Rocky Mountain National Park remained closed through the week of Thanksgiving. The East Troublesome Fire was the third record-breaking fire of 2020, with all three blazes surpassing 130,000 acres.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Origins</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado’s 2020 fire season got off to a late start, but fires worsened as a hot, dry summer turned to a dry, warm fall with frequent Red Flag warnings. The <strong>Pine Gulch Fire</strong> began on July 31 north of <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/grand-junction"><strong>Grand Junction</strong></a> and grew to 139,000 acres, while the smaller Grizzly Creek blaze near <strong>Glenwood Springs</strong> shut down <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/interstate-70"><strong>Interstate 70</strong></a> for weeks. Those fires were fully contained by September. In October the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cameron-peak-fire"><strong>Cameron Peak Fire</strong></a> west of Fort Collins became the largest blaze in state history and Colorado’s first wildfire to surpass 200,000 acres.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As the <strong>aspen</strong> trees turned in Grand County that fall, the entire state was still in a moderate drought, and the drought in the central Rockies became extreme. The Williams Fork Fire still burned on some 12,000 acres in southern Grand County, its smoke plume visible from I-70. Even as night temperatures reached below freezing, higher daytime temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity meant that the threat of additional fires remained high.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Troublesome Fire</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>It is not yet known what started the fire east of Troublesome Creek on October 14, but one week later it went on one of the most extraordinary runs in Colorado fire history. The evening of October 21 brought high winds that sent the 25,000-acre fire racing northeast at a rate of 6,000 acres per hour. By the time dawn broke on October 22, it had grown to 125,000 acres, burning through the town of Grand Lake, into Rocky Mountain National Park, and leaving dozens of charred houses and other buildings in its wake. The entire communities of Grand Lake and Granby were evacuated, along with hundreds of other residents from the surrounding area.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Some 300 firefighting personnel were battling the blaze, but they had managed only 5 percent containment. Crew leaders reported that “weather, terrain, and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mountain-pine-beetle"><strong>beetle-killed</strong></a> <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/conifers"><strong>lodgepole</strong> </a><strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/conifers">pine</a> </strong>contributed” to the East Troublesome Fire’s terrifying run on October 21–22. Even under those conditions, however, officials noted that they never expected runs of 6,000 acres per hour, which amounted to the biggest blowup recorded in the modern fire history of Colorado. It was late in the season and the fire in many places was above 9,000 feet in elevation, burning in areas that would typically have colder daytime temperatures and snow. On the afternoon of October 22, the fire crossed the <a href="/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a> in Rocky Mountain National Park and added another 50,000 acres, becoming the second-largest fire in state history. The fire's scaling of the Great Divide prompted mandatory evacuation orders for the entire town of Estes Park, displacing some 6,500 people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On October 24, authorities found out that not everyone had evacuated the fire area when they recovered the bodies of Lyle and Marilyn Hileman, a couple in their eighties who had stayed in their home near Grand Lake. Meanwhile, near the popular Bear Lake Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, anxious firefighters fought the East Troublesome Fire under a Red Flag warning all day. Their main objective was to defend Estes Park from the fire, which was being pushed eastward by a cold front blowing in with gusts up to sixty miles per hour. Finally, the front brought snow in the evening, halting the fire's advance toward the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Containment slowly progressed as snow continued to hit the burned area in November. By November 19, the East Troublesome Fire was 72 percent contained. Although it was still not extinguished by Thanksgiving, the fire no longer threatened communities.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Role of Climate Change</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Before the twenty-first century, Colorado had not seen a fire grow beyond 100,000 acres. Since 2000, however, there have been six, and three of them occurred in 2020. The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human fossil fuel consumption over the last two centuries has resulted in higher average temperatures that are accelerating a range of natural cycles. Fires like the East Troublesome are products of this climate shift and reflect a new era of fire danger in Colorado. As summers and droughts last longer and winter snow melts off earlier, bigger, later fires at higher altitudes are more likely to occur. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/east-troublesome-fire" hreflang="en">east troublesome fire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/2020-wildfire-season" hreflang="en">2020 wildfire season</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-wildfires" hreflang="en">colorado wildfires</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wildfire-colorado" hreflang="en">wildfire in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/grand-county" hreflang="en">Grand County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fire" hreflang="en">fire</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Allison Borden, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/10/21/east-troublesome-fire-in-grand-county-bears-down-on-grand-lake-during-wind-fueled-nighttime-run/">East Troublesome Fire Explodes During Wind-Fueled Nighttime Run</a>,” <em>CPR News</em>, October 22, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://inciweb.nwcg.gov:443/incident-information/coarf-east-troublesome-fire">East Troublesome Fire</a>,” InciWeb, updated October 22, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Andrew Freedman, "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/10/24/colorado-wildfire-east-troublesome-estes/">Colorado's second-largest wildfire forecast to grow amid high winds</a>," <em>The Washington Post</em>, October 23, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Gionet, "<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/300-400-structures-lost-in-east-troublesome-fire-the-death-of-a-lifetime/">300-400 Structures Lost in East Troublesome Fire: 'The Death Of A Lifetime,</a>'" CBS4 Denver, October 23, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Corey H. Jones et al., "'<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/10/22/grand-county-braces-for-another-large-growth-day-for-the-east-troublesome-fire/">We are in Defensive Mode:' Grand County's Fast-Growing East Troublesome Fire Prompts More Evacuations</a>," <em>CPR News</em>, October 22, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jesse Paul, Lucy Haggard, and Jennifer Brown, "<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/10/22/east-troublesome-fire-grand-lake-destruction/">'Lots of structure loss' after East Troublesome Fire's explosion into Grand Lake, but changing weather slows march toward Estes Park</a>," <em>Colorado Sun</em>, October 22, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>"<a href="https://climate.colostate.edu/monthly_summary.html">September 2020 Monthly Climate Summary</a>," Colorado Climate Center, Colorado State University, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kate Schimel, "<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/10/19/october-wildfires-like-boulders-calwood-fire-are-unusual-and-a-sign-of-things-to-come/">October Wildfires Like Boulder's Calwood Fire Are Unusual And A Sign Of Things To Come</a>," <em>CPR News</em>, October 19, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alta Spells and Christina Maxouris, "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/24/us/colorado-wildfire-couple-killed/index.html">An elderly couple refused to leave the home they loved and were killed in the East Troublesome Fire,</a>" CNN, October 24, 2020.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Michael Kodas, <em>Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame </em>(New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2017).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 23 Oct 2020 03:05:12 +0000 Nick Johnson 3460 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Waldo Canyon Fire http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/waldo-canyon-fire <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Waldo Canyon Fire</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3696--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3696.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/waldo-canyon-fire-june-26-2012"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Waldo_Canyon_Fire_-_Mountain_Shadows_Neighborhood_0.jpg?itok=QVpgx9Kp" width="1090" height="726" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/waldo-canyon-fire-june-26-2012" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Waldo Canyon Fire, June 26, 2012</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Waldo Canyon Fire descends toward the Mountain Shadows subdivision in <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a> on June 26, 2012. The fire destroyed some 340 houses in the neighborhood and killed two people. Evacuation orders for the area came later than expected amid erratic fire behavior earlier in the day.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3697--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3697.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/us-air-force-academy-during-waldo-canyon-fire"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/120627-F-XX000-001.jpeg?itok=Dh1TjW8B" width="1090" height="554" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/us-air-force-academy-during-waldo-canyon-fire" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">US Air Force Academy during Waldo Canyon Fire</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Cadets march at the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/united-states-air-force-academy"><strong>US Air Force Academy</strong></a> in <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a> during the Waldo Canyon Fire of June 2012. On June 26, the fire reached subdivisions in the western part of the city, prompting evacuations close to the academy. The academy also lent firefighting personnel to fight the blaze.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3698--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3698.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/waldo-canyon-fire-satellite-image"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/NASAWaldoCanyon.2012178._lrg_0.jpg?itok=4vZNC41F" width="1090" height="818" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/waldo-canyon-fire-satellite-image" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Waldo Canyon Fire, satellite image</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This NASA image of the Waldo Canyon Fire near <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a> in June 2012 shows a plume of smoke trailing off to the northeast. At more than 18,000 acres, the Waldo Canyon Fire was not as large as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wildfire-colorado"><strong>others</strong></a> burning at the same time, but it was one of the most destructive in state history, claiming 340 houses and 2 lives.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3699--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3699.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/waldo-canyon-fire-smoke"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/WaldoCanyonSmoke.jpeg?itok=SoMAizWg" width="1090" height="1459" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/waldo-canyon-fire-smoke" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Waldo Canyon Fire Smoke</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire unnerved <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a><strong> </strong>residents in June 2012. The fire eventually ran through a neighborhood on the city's west side, killing two people and burning more than 100 houses.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-10-15T15:59:49-06:00" title="Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 15:59" class="datetime">Thu, 10/15/2020 - 15:59</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/waldo-canyon-fire" data-a2a-title="Waldo Canyon Fire"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fwaldo-canyon-fire&amp;title=Waldo%20Canyon%20Fire"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>On June 22, 2012, the Waldo Canyon Fire ignited northwest of <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>, perilously close to neighborhoods and businesses in one of the most populated areas on Colorado’s <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>. Although local and federal agencies immediately converged on the blaze, hot, dry, and windy conditions quickly pushed the flames east into the city, with catastrophic results. By the time the fire was fully contained on July 10, two people had died and 346 houses burned, even though the fired covered a relatively small area of 18,247 acres.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The property damage and loss of life made the Waldo Canyon Fire the most destructive in Colorado history at that point, until it was surpassed the following year by the nearby <a href="/article/black-forest-fire"><strong>Black Forest Fire</strong></a>, which burned more than 500 houses. The cause of the Waldo Canyon Fire was determined to be human activity, but investigators did not identify what exactly sparked it. On top of the destruction, allegations of mismanagement plagued city leaders in the fire’s aftermath, making the fire as controversial as it was destructive.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Origins</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By late June 2012, Colorado’s Front Range was experiencing unseasonably hot and dry weather after a winter of below-average snowfall. By the time the Waldo Canyon Fire started on June 22, the <a href="/article/high-park-fire"><strong>High Park Fire</strong></a> in <a href="/article/larimer-county"><strong>Larimer County</strong></a> had killed one person and burned nearly 80,000 acres, while the Woodland Heights Fire threatened <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountain-national-park"><strong>Rocky Mountain National Park</strong></a>. Across the state, several other fires burned simultaneously, from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/leadville"><strong>Leadville</strong></a> to <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/grand-junction"><strong>Grand Junction</strong></a> to <strong>Mancos</strong> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/montezuma-county"><strong>Montezuma County</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 22, the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/el-paso-county"><strong>El Paso County</strong></a> Sheriff’s office received reports of smoke in the area of the Waldo Canyon Trailhead, just off US Highway 24 northwest of Colorado Springs. The fire was located the next day. The <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/us-forest-service-colorado"><strong>US Forest Service</strong></a> took control of firefighting operations, which included local and federal agencies. Bulldozers dug out fire breaks on June 23 to protect several nearby neighborhoods, which received voluntary evacuation notices that switched to mandatory evacuation orders later in the day. The Colorado Springs Fire Department established a base of operations at a Safeway store on West Colorado Avenue, an indication of how close the fire was to the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 24, a full evacuation order was issued for the town of <strong>Manitou Springs</strong>, a popular tourist haven five miles northwest of Colorado Springs, and the <strong>Colorado State Patrol</strong> closed Highway 24. A local Red Cross chapter set up shelters for evacuees at Cheyenne Mountain High School and Woodland Park High School.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Community Devastation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>June 26 proved to be the deadliest day of the Waldo Canyon Fire. A Red Flag warning (for high winds) was issued for the area that morning, and gusts up to ninety-four miles per hour were reported at the US <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/united-states-air-force-academy"><strong>Air Force Academy</strong></a>. Fueled by incessant wind, the blaze crossed a ridge and rapidly descended into the Mountain Shadows subdivision, where it burned hundreds of houses. Later investigations showed that an evacuation plan for the neighborhood was hastily put in place that morning, which resulted in many residents not knowing they had to leave until it was too late. Two Mountain Shadows residents, William and Barbara Everett, died in their burning house as they tried to leave. Many others barely escaped.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>With the assistance of law enforcement from across the region, additional evacuations took place that day south of the Air Force Academy and west of <strong>Interstate 25</strong>. Meanwhile, crews worked to protect and remove flammables from the historic <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/glen-eyrie"><strong>Glen Eyrie</strong></a> property, which survived the blaze. Another Red Flag warning was issued the following day, but winds subsided on June 28, slowing the fire somewhat.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 29, President Barack Obama arrived in Colorado Springs, accompanied by Representative <strong>Doug Lamborn</strong> and Colorado senators <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mark-udall"><strong>Mark Udall</strong></a> and <strong>Michael Bennet</strong>. The president declared a National Emergency in Colorado, mentioning the “enormous devastation” he had seen in Mountain Shadows. Obama praised the “outstanding coordination” of response agencies and noted they were “starting to see progress” on containment.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thanks to that progress, many evacuees were able to return home that day. Some residents, including those in the town of Green Mountain Falls, came back to find their streets littered with trash, as <strong>bears</strong> and raccoons—likely fleeing the fire themselves—ransacked the abandoned community (a local marshal oversaw efforts to remove the bears).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As the forecast turned over the next several days, flooding became an additional threat due to the burned-out landscape. On June 30, a flash flood caused a mudslide that damaged Ute Pass Elementary School in Cascade. The damage and threat of future flooding remained long after the Waldo Canyon Fire was finally contained on July 10.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>At 18,247 acres, the Waldo Canyon Fire was dwarfed by other fires in terms of size, but its quick spread into Colorado Springs neighborhoods made it the costliest fire in state history to that point. Insurance claims totaled $352.6 million, nearly three times that of the much larger High Park Fire in the same month. More than 340 houses were destroyed, all of them in Mountain Shadows.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On April 3, 2013, the city of Colorado Springs released its Final After Action Report on the fire, which detailed several areas for improvement in fire response. In addition to improving real-time communication and deployment of staff and volunteers, the report recommended better implementation of the Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized system for coordinated emergency response developed after disastrous wildfires in California during the 1960s and 1970s. Bill Gabbert, a former firefighter who battled wildfire in 1970s California, opined that “roughly 75 percent of the problems identified” in official reports “could have been avoided if Colorado Springs had fully implemented the ICS.” To Gabbert, it was “difficult to understand” why Colorado Springs, with so much development in “a wildfire-prone area,” had not fully implemented the ICS by 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to its apparent lack of preparedness, the city’s response to the fire’s surge into Mountain Shadows was also criticized. Even though they had been warned of the potential for erratic fire behavior on June 26, local fire crews concentrated resources on what they believed was the fire’s most likely path—south into the Cedar Heights community—leaving few resources to defend Mountain Shadows. Moreover, the city failed to issue evacuations for the community when the fire entered Queens Canyon, a previously agreed-upon trigger point for evacuations in Mountain Shadows. Some residents believed these decisions directly led to the loss of life and property.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following the fire, Colorado Springs mayor Steve Bach established Colorado Springs Together, a nonprofit intended to help fire victims get the resources they needed to rebuild. From 2012 to 2014, the group received more than $500,000 in donations, the bulk of which were spent on a new park in Mountain Shadows and a memorial for the fire and its victims.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition, the <strong>El Pomar Foundation</strong> and Pikes Peak United Way formed the Waldo Canyon Fire Assistance Fund, which raised more than $940,000 for local nonprofits involved in recovery and cleanup.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Fire damage in the Pike National Forest northwest of Colorado Springs was so extensive that the area remained closed to the public until 2017. That year, the city established June 26 as Waldo Canyon Fire Commemoration Day.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The following year, as hundreds of new houses were completed in Mountain Shadows, a coalition of local and federal agencies led by the Rocky Mountain Field Institute received a grant from <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-parks-and-wildlife"><strong>Colorado Parks and Wildlife</strong></a> to launch Re-Imagine Waldo Canyon, a community-centric group that would come up with a plan for the burned area. In June 2020, the group published its final report outlining its plans for rebuilding a trail network, protecting wildlife, and restoring drainages and other important natural features in the burned area.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Along with the other fires that burned near communities in 2012, the Waldo Canyon Fire served as a poignant and tragic reminder of the inherent dangers of the Wildland-Urban Interface—a term that describes urban and suburban sprawl into fire-prone mountain areas across the country. It also remains part of a large post-2000 fire portfolio that, in sum, points to the increased potential for devastating wildfires in an American West wracked by climate change.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/waldo-canyon-fire" hreflang="en">waldo canyon fire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-springs" hreflang="en">colorado springs</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/manitou-springs" hreflang="en">manitou springs</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/air-force-academy" hreflang="en">Air Force Academy</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wildfire" hreflang="en">wildfire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-wildfires" hreflang="en">colorado wildfires</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/2012" hreflang="en">2012</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mountain-shadows" hreflang="en">mountain shadows</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/barack-obama" hreflang="en">barack obama</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/michael-bennet" hreflang="en">michael bennet</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mark-udall" hreflang="en">mark udall</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>City of Colorado Springs, “<a href="https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/coe/Website/Data_Repository/Waldo%20Canyon%20Fire%20Final%20After%20Action%20Report_City%20of%20Colorado%20Springs.pdf">Waldo Canyon Fire, 23 June to 10 July 2012, Final After Action Report</a>,” April 3, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, “<a href="https://wildfiretoday.com/documents/Waldo_Canyon_Fire_Sheriff_Report.pdf">Waldo Canyon Fire After Action Report</a>,” 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>El Pomar Foundation, “<a href="https://www.elpomar.org/blog/detail/stories-of-impact-the-waldo-canyon-fire-assistance-fund/2265/">Stories of Impact: The Waldo Canyon Fire Assistance Fund</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bill Gabbert, “<a href="https://wildfiretoday.com/2013/04/05/another-report-released-for-colorado-springs-waldo-canyon-fire/">Another Report Released for Colorado Springs’ Waldo Canyon Fire</a>,” <em>Wildfire Today</em>, April 5, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>KKTV, “<a href="https://www.kktv.com/content/news/Flash-flooding-still-a-threat-5-years-after-Waldo-419942924.html">Flash Flooding Still a Threat 5 Years After Waldo</a>,” KTTV 11 News, April 20, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alexander Maranghides, Derek McNamara, Robert Vihnanek, Joseph Restaino, and Carrie Leland, “<a href="https://www.nist.gov/maintenance">A Case Study of a Community Affected by the Waldo Fire—Event Timeline and Defensive Actions</a>,” National Institute of Standards and Technology, US Department of Commerce, November 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/29/president-obamas-remarks-in-colorado-springs-on-waldo-canyon-fire/">President Obama’s Remarks in Colorado Springs on Waldo Canyon Fire</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 29, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Re-Imagine Waldo Canyon, “<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4931008ab7229d01998873/t/5ed814fb9779192cd7755681/1591219477426/20.06.01_RE-IMAGINE+WALDO+CANYON+Community+Vision+Report+%281%29.pdf">Re-Imagine Waldo Canyon Community Vision</a>,” June 1, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Melissa Stewart, “<a href="https://gazette.com/woodmenedition/after-waldo-canyon-fire-parkside-at-mountain-shadows-nearly-finished-with-home-rebuilds/article_56de5a40-e858-11e8-9b01-833b7aa30600.html">After Waldo Canyon Fire, Parkside at Mountain Shadows Nearly Finished With Home Rebuilds</a>,” <em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em>, November 21, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Andrew Wineke, “<a href="https://gazette.com/news/waldo-canyon-fire-most-expensive-in-state-history/article_d7826cf0-234e-57e8-a3fa-cc9e787f2171.html">Waldo Canyon Fire Most Expensive in State History</a>,” <em>Gazette </em>(Colorado Springs), July 17. 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pam Zubeck, “About That Waldo Canyon Fire Recovery Group…” <em>Colorado Springs Independent</em>, June 22, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pam Zubeck, “<a href="https://m.csindy.com/thewire/archives/2017/06/13/city-to-recognize-waldo-canyon-fire-commemoration-day-on-june-26/">City to Recognize Waldo Canyon Fire Commemoration Day on June 26</a>,” <em>Colorado Springs Independent</em>, June 13, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pam Zubeck, “<a href="https://m.csindy.com/coloradosprings/misfire/content/?oid=2598215">Misfire: How City Leadership Left Residents—and Their Heroes—Exposed During the Waldo Canyon Tragedy</a>,” <em>Colorado Springs Independent</em>, December 12, 2012.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Sean Cayton, “<a href="https://m.csindy.com/coloradosprings/photographing-the-waldo-canyon-fire/slideshow/3029297/3029299/">Photographing the Waldo Canyon Fire</a>,” <em>Colorado Springs Independent</em>, April 26, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics">National Interagency Fire Center</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Pyne, <em>Fire: A Brief History</em>, 2nd ed. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Pyne, <em>The Interior West: A Fire Survey </em>(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.waldocanyonplanning.com/">Re-imagine Waldo Canyon</a>.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 15 Oct 2020 21:59:49 +0000 yongli 3437 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org High Park Fire http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/high-park-fire <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">High Park Fire</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-10-15T15:55:59-06:00" title="Thursday, October 15, 2020 - 15:55" class="datetime">Thu, 10/15/2020 - 15:55</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/high-park-fire" data-a2a-title="High Park Fire"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fhigh-park-fire&amp;title=High%20Park%20Fire"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Ignited by lightning in early June 2012, the High Park Fire became one of the largest and most destructive <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wildfire-colorado"><strong>wildfires</strong></a> in Colorado history, burning 87,415 acres along the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cache-la-poudre-river"><strong>Cache la Poudre River</strong></a> in the mountains west of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a>. By the time it was fully contained on June 30, the High Park Fire had destroyed more than 250 houses and killed one person. Insured property losses totaled more than $113 million.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the aftermath, mitigation crews from a number of local, state, and federal agencies worked to secure the health of the Poudre River, a major water source for the city of Fort Collins that was threatened by erosion and runoff in the burned area. One year later, the denuded landscape left by the High Park Fire intensified the effects of the devastating <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/september-2013-floods"><strong>2013 Floods</strong></a> in northern Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Origins</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In late spring 2012, climatologists declared 100 percent of Colorado to be under <strong>drought</strong> conditions, brought on in part because of below-average winter <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow-colorado"><strong>snow</strong></a> totals. A heat wave gripped the northern <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> from <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> to the Wyoming border. In June alone, Fort Collins saw a record twelve days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. A lightning strike on June 7 near East White Pine Mountain, about fifteen miles west of Fort Collins, ignited the High Park Fire, which was reported on June 9. Over the next three days, authorities sent evacuation notices to 474 local phone numbers as windy conditions blew the fire up to some 43,000 acres. Nearly 500 firefighters were dispatched to the conflagration and more than 100 structures were already burned.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>It was in these first few days that the fire claimed its only victim, sixty-three-year-old Linda Steadman, who died when her cabin was engulfed in flames off Stove Prairie Road, several miles south of Highway 14. Many other residents were able to safely evacuate along Highway 14, either east to Fort Collins or west to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/walden-north-park"><strong>Walden</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A Protracted Fight</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Over the next two weeks, the number of evacuation orders increased to more than 1,000, as weather conditions continued to hinder efforts to contain the fire. By the week of June 17, wind gusts of up to fifty miles per hour had intermittently grounded aircraft attempting to drop fire retardant, though seventeen helicopters did eventually help contain the blaze. By June 19, the High Park Fire’s eleventh day, more than 1,900 personnel were deployed along 49 miles of fire lines. Despite being 55 percent contained, the fire had grown to more than 55,000 acres and burned nearly 200 houses.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Assisted by members of the <strong>National Guard</strong>, firefighting efforts continued through June 25, when authorities told <em>The Denver Post </em>they were “cautiously optimistic” about the fire’s final containment. But by that point, the fire had reached historic proportions. At 87,000 acres, it was then the third-largest fire by area in state history. It had already claimed more than 250 houses and more than $113 million in property, which made it the most destructive fire in state history—until it was surpassed just weeks later by the <strong><a href="/article/waldo-canyon-fire">Waldo Canyon Fire</a> </strong>near <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>. The damage was not limited to the burned area—a 2013 study found that the air quality in Fort Collins during the High Park Fire was as bad as some of the most polluted cities in the world. Total firefighting costs came in at $38.4 million.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On June 30, the <a href="/article/larimer-county"><strong>Larimer County</strong></a> Sheriff’s Office announced that the High Park Fire had been 100 percent contained. All evacuation orders were lifted, and crews reopened Highway 14, which now ran alongside a Poudre River blackened by ash. Some 1,200 evacuated residents had been able to return to the burned area as early as June 26. Campgrounds and trailheads in the Poudre Canyon—popular among Fort Collins residents—remained closed for several days, though river access sites were opened immediately.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After the fire was out, one of the immediate challenges for recovery was the checkerboard system of land ownership in the Poudre Canyon—some areas belonged to the federal government, while others were state-managed and still others were private property. To ensure a collaborative and efficient recovery effort, members of local, state, and federal agencies quickly formed the High Park Restoration Coalition, a nonprofit landscape recovery group.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>While Poudre Canyon communities have rebuilt amid the scarred landscape, the environmental effects of the High Park Fire are still being felt years later. Most important was the fire’s damage to watersheds that feed the Cache la Poudre River, a major source of drinking water for the city of Fort Collins and surrounding areas.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The High Park Restoration Coalition—which eventually reorganized as the <strong>Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed </strong>(CPRW)—immediately set about identifying priority areas that were susceptible to erosion and watershed damage. According to the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/us-forest-service-colorado"><strong>US Forest Service</strong></a>, about 48 percent of the High Park Fire area suffered “moderate to high severity” burning, with vegetation completely incinerated in many areas. Without plant roots to hold them in place, soils and fire debris in these high-priority areas tumbled into the Poudre River and its tributaries, threatening to clog downstream water systems and pollute water supplies. To combat postfire erosion, CPRW oversaw large-scale mulching (which helps prevent soil movement) and plant reseeding on more than 10,000 acres of the burned area. Thanks to these and other efforts by CPRW, local water supplies were not affected by the fire.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The next September, consistent rains produced a large-scale flood that wracked several Front Range counties. The flood’s intensity in Larimer County was partially due to the destruction of the High Park Fire the previous year, as water rushed unencumbered over bare slopes and banks. One positive aspect, however, was that the rushing flood waters acted like a giant flushing mechanism for the Poudre River, clearing out tons of fire-wrought sediment and debris that would have otherwise washed out gradually and could have polluted municipal water supplies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In January 2015, staff at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery began hosting community forums in preparation for a new exhibit, “The High Park Fire: A Community Responds.” The interactive exhibit, which includes photos and artifacts from the fire—as well as video footage of interviews with residents, responders, and eyewitnesses—opened in June 2015 to commemorate the three-year anniversary of the fire. It remains one of the museum’s featured exhibits today.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/high-park-fire" hreflang="en">high park fire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/wildfire" hreflang="en">wildfire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-collins" hreflang="en">fort collins</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/larimer-county" hreflang="en">larimer county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cache-la-poudre-river" hreflang="en">cache la poudre river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/2012-wildfires" hreflang="en">2012 wildfires</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/2012" hreflang="en">2012</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/us-forest-service-0" hreflang="en">US forest service</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Kyle Blount and Adrianne Kroepsch, “<a href="https://online.ucpress.edu/cse/article/3/1/1/108968/Improving-the-Resilience-of-Water-Resources-after">Improving the Resilience of Water Resources After Wildfire Through Collaborative Watershed Management: A Case Study From Colorado</a>,” <em>Case Studies in the Environment</em> 3, no. 1 (2019).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, “<a href="https://www.poudrewatershed.org/history">History</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Janice L. Coen and Wilfrid Schroeder, “<a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2014JD021993">The High Park fFre: Coupled Weather-Wildland Fire Model Simulation of a Windstorm-Driven Wildfire in Colorado’s Front Range</a>,” <em>Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres</em> 120, no. 1 (December 11, 2014).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2013/01/29/colorados-high-park-fire-smoke-bad-enough-to-cause-health-problems/">Colorado’s High Park Fire Smoke Bad Enough to Cause Health Problems</a>,” <em>Loveland Reporter-Herald</em>, January 29, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Earth Observatory, “<a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/78236/high-park-fire-in-colorado">High Park Fire in Colorado</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Nathan Heffel and Jim Hill, “<a href="https://www.kunc.org/environment/2012-06-24/high-park-fire-83-205-acres-and-45-contained">High Park Fire: 83,205 Acres and 45% Contained</a>,” KUNC, June 24, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/weekend-stories/high-park-fire-grows-overnight/73-333747097">High Park Fire Grows Overnight</a>,” 9 News, June 9, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Libby James, “<a href="https://northfortynews.com/category/uncategorized/first-fire-now-flood-the-great-flood-of-2013/">First Fire, Now Flood: The Great Flood of 2013</a>,” <em>North Forty News</em>, September 20, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sarah Jane Kyle, “<a href="https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2015/06/02/high-park-fire-exhibit-fort-collins-museum-discovery/28353097/">June 11: High Park Fire Exhibit Opens in Fort Collins</a>,” <em>Coloradoan </em>(Fort Collins), June 2, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kirk Mitchell, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/30/colorado-wildfire-high-park-fire-now-100-percent-contained/">Colorado Wildfire: High Park Fire Now 100 Percent Contained</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 30, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kieran Nicholson and Joey Bunch, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/18/colorado-wildfire-high-park-fire-hits-58770-acres-even-as-winds-calm/">Colorado Wildfire: High Park Fire Hits 58,770 Acres Even as Winds Calm</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 18, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kieran Nicholson and Tegan Hanlon, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/26/colorado-wildfire-state-national-guard-members-keeping-a-close-eye-on-high-park-fire/">Colorado Wildfire: State National Guard Members Keeping a Close Eye on High Park Fire</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 26, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kieran Nicholson and Sarah Simmons, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/19/colorado-wildfire-containment-now-at-55-percent/">Colorado Wildfire: Containment Now at 55 Percent</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 19, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kieran Nicholson, Monte Whaley, and Joey Bunch, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/11/colorado-wildfire-one-dead-in-41000-acre-high-park-fire-2/">Colorado Wildfire: One Dead in 41,000-Acre High Park Fire</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, June 11, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cory Reppenhagen, “<a href="https://www.9news.com/article/weather/denvers-hot-june-may-carry-through-the-summer/73-c929654c-268f-477d-b3f9-151f066c90b5">Denver’s Hot June May Carry Through the Summer</a>,” 9 News, June 22, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Rose, “<a href="https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/pine-gulch-fire-now-4th-largest-in-our-states-history#:~:text=Largest%20wildfires%20in%20Colorado's%20history&amp;text=The%20largest%20fire%20in%20our,of%20land%20in%20Southern%20Colorado.">Pine Gulch Fire Now 4th Largest in Our State’s History</a>,” KOAA News 5, August 17, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, “<a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_journals/2017/rmrs_2017_miller_s003.pdf">Learn From the Burn: The High Park Fire 5 Years Later</a>,” <em>Science You Can Use Bulletin</em>, no. 25 (May/June 2017).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>City of Fort Collins, “<a href="https://www.fcgov.com/highparkfire/">High Park Fire</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.poudrewatershed.org/">Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=high+park+fire+interviews">The High Park Fire Interviews</a>, YouTube.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Kodas, <em>Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame </em>(Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics">National Interagency Fire Center</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Pyne, <em>Fire: A Brief History</em>, 2nd ed. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Pyne, <em>The Interior West: A Fire Survey </em>(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 15 Oct 2020 21:55:59 +0000 yongli 3436 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org St. James Hotel Fire of 1895 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/st-james-hotel-fire-1895 <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">St. James Hotel Fire of 1895</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-07-08T16:02:44-06:00" title="Wednesday, July 8, 2020 - 16:02" class="datetime">Wed, 07/08/2020 - 16:02</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/st-james-hotel-fire-1895" data-a2a-title="St. James Hotel Fire of 1895"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fst-james-hotel-fire-1895&amp;title=St.%20James%20Hotel%20Fire%20of%201895"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>On March 23, 1895, a blaze at the St. James Hotel in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> killed four firefighters, three of whom were black. Despite ongoing racial tensions that had intensified during the depths of an economic depression, the city mourned all four men together, without regard to race. The public response was a brief instance of racial equality in Denver that would be unmatched until the civil rights movement in the twentieth century.</p> <h2>History of the St. James Hotel</h2> <p>In the late nineteenth century, the St. James Hotel at 1528 Curtis Street was regarded as one of Denver’s most luxurious hotels. Opened in 1872, it was originally called the Everett House before being renamed after an 1881 expansion. A traveler who came to Colorado in 1883 reported that the St. James had “more guests than any of the rest” of Denver’s hotels.</p> <p>In 1894 a fire in the Champa Building directly behind the St. James incinerated several buildings between Champa and Curtis Streets. Many people thought it was a miracle that the St. James survived the Champa Building fire with almost no damage. At the time, hotels were often targets of arsonists because they could use fire as a diversion to rob hotel guests.</p> <h2>A Deadly Blaze</h2> <p>When fire broke out at the St. James itself a year later, faulty wiring was probably to blame. The fire started in the hotel baggage room around 10:30 pm on March 23, 1895. Flames were discovered by a hotel manager and night engineer, who tried to extinguish them. But the fire grew rapidly, spreading thick smoke. An alarm was raised, and roughly 150 guests and employees escaped through the lobby. All of the hotel’s guests and workers survived. Hearing the alarm, residents in nearby buildings began removing furniture and documents from their residences in case the fire spread.</p> <p>One witness told&nbsp;<em> The Denver Times</em>&nbsp; the fire was so thick that a “lantern could not be seen half a dozen feet away.” It was what firefighters called a “blind” fire, one in which the thickness of the smoke made the flames seem almost invisible.</p> <p>At around 10:50 pm, with the fire growing out of control, fire chief <strong>William E. Roberts</strong> sounded a general alarm. Fire companies from all over the city sped to the scene. One of the first to arrive was <strong>Hose Company 3</strong>, made up of Captain Harold Hartwell, Lieutenant Fred Brawley, Richard Dandridge, and Stephen Martin. Only Captain Hartwell was white; the rest of the men were African American. They charged into the fire and immediately aimed their hoses toward the basement, where the flames seemed worst. As the men worked their way through the lobby, the tile beneath them suddenly collapsed. The fire below had completely burned away the floor’s two-by-eight-foot wooden support beams, and the men fell to their deaths.</p> <p>The fire blazed on for roughly another hour before the flames were extinguished. When Chief Roberts learned that Hose Company 3 was missing, he called for volunteers to dig through the charred hotel remains. The first body found was Captain Hartwell, who was thought to have suffocated from smoke inhalation because he was not badly burned. The next found was Richard Dandridge, his body almost thirty feet away from where he fell and his scalp almost entirely ripped from his skull. Martin’s body was found soon after, his scalp almost completely missing and his arms “burned to stumps,” according to the&nbsp;<strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>. Lieutenant Brawley was found later than his comrades, as his body was deeply buried in charred rubble. Because of the depth at which his body was discovered and the extent of his burns, rescuers assumed that he was the first to fall into the basement.</p> <h2>The Aftermath of the Fire</h2> <p>The St. James Hotel was rebuilt after the fire, but it never returned to its former glory. It became run-down and eventually went out of business.</p> <p>More important for the city, public response to the deaths of Hose Company 3 involved a display of racial egalitarianism that was uncharacteristic of the era. Relations between blacks and whites in Denver had been tense since the 1860s, when a proposed constitution for an unsuccessful statehood bid would have denied African Americans voting rights. In addition, African Americans living in Denver in the late nineteenth century were relatively prosperous and well educated, and many whites were afraid blacks would take their jobs—a fear that had gained strength during the economic turmoil of the 1890s.</p> <p>Despite these tensions, Denver had started to hire black firefighters earlier than some other cities; New York City, for example, did not have any until 1898. Nevertheless, Denver kept its black firefighters segregated in all-black companies whose only white members were captains (such as Harold Hartwell) and other leaders. The city’s all-black companies were considered inferior to all-white companies and were given lower pay and lower-quality equipment. They were also assigned to menial tasks that white firefighters did not want to do, such as painting buildings, delivering supplies, and cleaning laundry for the white firefighters. They were often not allowed inside the fire stations of white companies.</p> <p>Yet in the wake of the St. James Hotel fire, newspapers and politicians told only of the bravery of the four men who died, praising their efforts and honoring their memory without mentioning their race. In addition, rather than holding a separate ceremony for Captain Hartwell, the city staged a single, elaborate funeral for all four firefighters, with the fire and police departments marching in the streets. Notably, each of the four caskets in the funeral was made to look exactly alike so that no one in the crowd could distinguish which man was white and which were black.</p> <p>Denverites may have honored the fallen black and white firefighters equally because fires posed such a threat to the city during the late 1800s. Had the St. James fire spread to other buildings, as plenty of fires did in Denver’s early decades, it could have been disastrous. Usually seen as inferior to their white counterparts, even black firefighters were deemed heroes for their efforts in saving lives and livelihoods during an economic depression. The fact that the men died alongside their white captain, in similar circumstances, may also have elevated the public perception of their heroism.</p> <p>The public response to the deaths marked a moment of unity in Denver’s race relations, but the tragedy was not enough to erase the color line that had existed since the city was founded. Black firefighters worked hard for recognition of their efforts and sacrifices, but they remained—then as now—a small part of the city’s firefighting force, smaller than in many other large cities. Racial tensions in Denver continued to grow until their peak in the 1920s, when <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ku-klux-klan-colorado"><strong>Ku Klux Klan</strong></a> members held government office and marched through the streets. The city did not see its first black fire captain until 1925, and its fire companies were not integrated until 1957.</p> <p>As of 2016, about 4.7 percent of Denver’s firefighters were black, 2 percentage points behind the national average.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kennedy-anna" hreflang="und">Kennedy, Anna</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/st-james-hotel" hreflang="en">St. James Hotel</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fire" hreflang="en">fire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/race-relations" hreflang="en">race relations</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Fearful Fatalities: The St. James Hotel at Denver and Four Firemen Burned,” <em>Boulder Daily Camera</em>, March 25, 1895.</p> <p>&nbsp;“Firemen’s Lives Lost: Disastrous Conflagration at Denver,” <em>Castle Rock Journal</em>, March 27, 1895.</p> <p>Dick Kreck, <em>Denver in Flames: Forging a New Mile High City</em> (Golden: Fulcrum, 2000).</p> <p>Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis</em> (Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1990).</p> <p>“The St. James on Fire: One of Denver’s Old Landmarks Being Consumed by the Red Tongued Monster,” <em>Morning Journal</em>, March 24, 1895.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>“<a href="https://denverarchitecture.org/site/denver-fire-station-3/">Denver Fire Station #3</a>,” Denver Architecture Foundation.</p> <p>Hayley Sanchez, “Black History Month Features Firefighters Exhibit, Denver Fire Department Calls for Diversity,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, February 12, 2017.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 08 Jul 2020 22:02:44 +0000 yongli 3384 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Belmont Hotel Fire of 1908 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/belmont-hotel-fire-1908 <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Belmont Hotel Fire of 1908 </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-07-08T16:00:07-06:00" title="Wednesday, July 8, 2020 - 16:00" class="datetime">Wed, 07/08/2020 - 16:00</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/belmont-hotel-fire-1908" data-a2a-title="Belmont Hotel Fire of 1908 "><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fbelmont-hotel-fire-1908&amp;title=Belmont%20Hotel%20Fire%20of%201908%20"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>On September 8, 1908, a fire broke out on the second floor of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>’s Belmont Hotel, claiming as many as fifteen lives and injuring several others in one of the city’s deadliest fires. After the fire, authorities suspected that theft may have been a motive for arson, as valuables had gone missing during the fire and the hotel was near some of the poorer areas of the city. The perceived connection between criminals and arson contributed to several <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/progressive-era-colorado"><strong>Progressive Era</strong></a> reforms designed in part to reduce arson by eliminating potential motivating factors such as alcohol, gambling, and prostitution.</p> <h2>A Death Trap</h2> <p>The Belmont Hotel, a three-story boardinghouse located at 1723 Stout Street, was built in 1893, just across the street from the <strong>Albany Hotel</strong>. The Belmont had a reputation as a low-class boardinghouse, and its proximity to the crime and vice of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/larimer-square"><strong>Larimer</strong></a> and <strong>Market Streets</strong> placed it in what Denver’s upper class considered the “seamy” side of town. Shortly before four o’clock on the morning of September 8, 1908, a fire broke out in a second-floor linen closet. Within minutes, flames blocked all stairways and exits, trapping at least one hundred residents inside. The few first-floor residents who managed to escape fled across the street and were sheltered at the Albany Hotel.</p> <p>The residents trapped inside the Belmont flocked to the windows of their rooms. Residents of the Albany Hotel as well as spectators in the street pleaded with them not to jump. Some listened and waited to be rescued by the fire department, but several others jumped. One guest at the Belmont, Patrick Treadwell, was a member of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cripple-creek"><strong>Cripple Creek</strong></a> Fire Department and managed to save at least ten lives by helping victims swing to safety in neighboring buildings.</p> <p>The fire department arrived soon after the alarm was raised, but the fire kept burning for at least two hours before it was extinguished. Among the victims were George D. Ott, George W. Bodle, and J. B. Moore, all of whom died of injuries sustained from jumping. A fourth victim, John J. Kane, was found dead in his room, a victim of suffocation due to smoke inhalation, and a fifth victim, William E. Lewis, was badly burned and later died in the hospital. In addition, ten of the hotel’s 100 known guests were unaccounted for after the fire and were also presumed dead. This brought the total number of fatalities to fifteen, making the Belmont Hotel fire one of the deadliest in Denver since the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gumry-hotel-explosion"><strong>Gumry Hotel explosion</strong></a> in 1895. Six other guests were taken to the hospital with burns and other injuries sustained from jumping.</p> <p>A lack of clearly marked and easily accessible fire exits contributed to the high number of deaths at the Belmont Hotel. There was only one fire exit at the back of the Belmont, and it was not clearly advertised to residents. It was also almost completely inaccessible from the hotel windows, and the escape ladder itself stopped at a point twenty feet above the ground, making it dangerous to use. Investigation into the fire proved that none of the victims knew that the fire exit existed. Even those who knew of it, such as landlady Nettie Rahn and her three sons, chose not to risk the long drop to the ground.</p> <h2>The Work of Thieves&nbsp;</h2> <p>While the fire department initially blamed the blaze on faulty wiring—a common cause of fires at the time—further police investigation unearthed evidence of arson. One of the first facts that troubled investigators was the lack of wires or lights in the second-floor linen closet that could have started the fire. Investigators also discovered traces of gasoline in the debris around the linen closet, which could have been used as an accelerant, explaining the fire’s quick spread. However, the gasoline was ambiguous evidence because several Belmont residents reported seeing the landlady sprinkling gasoline in the hallways to exterminate bugs in the weeks before the fire.</p> <p>The clearest clue pointing to arson was the fact that up to $3,000 of diamonds, jewelry, and other valuables were missing after the blaze, probably stolen from rooms while residents were distracted by the fire. Nettie Rahn was missing $325 from under her mattress as well as a diamond sunburst, a gold watch, and other jewelry; Lulu Guyer was missing $30 from her stocking; Mabel Williams was missing a gold watch; and F. H. McConnell was missing a bag of clothes, some jewelry, and an unspecified amount of cash. John Kane’s family reported that his effects were missing $600 and a gold watch. The items stolen from long-term residents were frequently the only valuable possessions those people had, while guests visiting Denver would have had relatively large sums of cash, even at a down-market hotel such as the Belmont.</p> <h2>Arson and Poverty</h2> <p>The losses at the Belmont Hotel were high enough to suggest robbery as a strong motive for arson. In fact, several nearby fires in the previous three months were also suspected to be arsons for the purpose of robbery. Police suspected the Belmont fire was the work of the same group of criminals, but investigators never discovered who the arsonists were and never fully confirmed that arsonists were to blame. Nevertheless, historians today have agreed that arson is the most likely explanation for the fires as well as the thefts.</p> <p>Like other lower-class hotels that were set on fire and robbed, the Belmont was probably targeted by arsonists because law enforcement was scarce in those neighborhoods, reducing the likelihood of being caught. Most such robberies resulted in losses of only a few hundred dollars, suggesting that the arsonists were poor people stealing out of desperation. Rather than choosing targets such as the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/brown-palace-hotel"><strong>Brown Palace Hotel</strong></a>, where their efforts would have been more lucrative, these arsonists stuck to less luxurious establishments where criminal activity would draw less attention.</p> <p>The proximity of many suspected arsons to Market and Larimer Streets also sheds light on the motivations behind the fires and the methods local reformers used to curb them. Market and Larimer were notorious during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for having the highest concentration of saloons, brothels, and gambling halls in Denver. Investigators suspected that money from the robberies may have been used to pay off gambling debts or for drinking money. The response of city officials and Denver citizens during the Progressive Era was a crusade to minimize criminal activity in Denver, which reformers believed would also reduce arson attacks against businesses. Progressive efforts to outlaw gambling and prostitution, increase law enforcement in poor neighborhoods, and enact <strong>alcohol prohibition </strong>aimed to improve the city’s morals and eliminate motivations for arson.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kennedy-anna" hreflang="und">Kennedy, Anna</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/belmont-hotel" hreflang="en">Belmont Hotel</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arson" hreflang="en">arson</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fire" hreflang="en">fire</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Belmont Horror Wrecking Minds of Survivors: Awful Fire Scenes Pictured in Delirium Adds to Physical Sufferings,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em>, September 9, 1908.</p> <p>“Belmont Hotel Burns,” <em>Wet Mountain Tribune</em>, September 12, 1908.</p> <p>“Belmont Is Looted by Thieves Who Start Fire to Rob Guests,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em>, September 9, 1908.</p> <p>“Corpse of Fire Victim Robbed of $600 Money,”<em> The Denver Post</em>, September 27, 1908.</p> <p>“C&amp;S Brakeman Victim of Belmont Hotel Holocaust,” <em>Colorado Transcript</em>, September 10, 1908.</p> <p>&nbsp;“Four Dead in Hotel Fire: Many Jumped From Windows of the Flaming Belmont in Denver,” <em>New York Times</em>, September 8, 1908.</p> <p>“Four Deaths in Denver Fire: Burning of Belmont Hotel on Stout Street Near the Albany Proved a Death Trap,” <em>Breckenridge Bulletin</em>, September 12, 1908.</p> <p>“Four Lives Sacrificed in Denver Hotel Fire,” <em>Herald Democrat</em> (Leadville, CO), September 9, 1908.</p> <p>“Injured in Fire: Two Silverton People Have Close Call in Denver Hotel,” <em>Durango Wage Earner</em>, September 10, 1908.</p> <p>&nbsp;“Proof at Hand That Coliseum Was Set on Fire: Chiefs of Police and Fire Departments Have Clew to Criminal,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em>, September 29, 1908.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Dick Kreck<em>, Denver in Flames: Forging a New Mile High City</em> (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2000).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 08 Jul 2020 22:00:07 +0000 yongli 3383 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Union Depot Fire of 1894 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/union-depot-fire-1894 <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Union Depot Fire of 1894 </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-07-06T16:04:17-06:00" title="Monday, July 6, 2020 - 16:04" class="datetime">Mon, 07/06/2020 - 16:04</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/union-depot-fire-1894" data-a2a-title="Union Depot Fire of 1894 "><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Funion-depot-fire-1894&amp;title=Union%20Depot%20Fire%20of%201894%20"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>In 1894 a fire at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>’s original Union Depot destroyed much of the building within an hour. The burning of the railroad station, which had been completed in 1881 and was regarded as one of the largest and grandest in the West, shocked Denver citizens. Reconstruction efforts began almost immediately and soon restored the building to even greater grandeur. The <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/union-station-0"><strong>Union Station</strong></a> that emerged from the ashes provided the basic structure for all subsequent renovations to the building.</p> <h2>Ignited by Electricity</h2> <p>At around 12:30 am on March 18, 1894, several night watchmen at Union Depot discovered a fire in the second story of the west wing, just above the baggage room. The fire was suspected to be electrical in origin. Earlier in the evening, two wires in the ladies’ waiting room had broken, sending arc lights to the floor. Firefighters later determined that electricity from these broken wires had caused a spark that ignited the offices in the west wing.</p> <p>At first, several Union Depot employees attempted to extinguish the fire themselves. They soon realized that the flames were out of control. An alarm was raised at the Denver Fire Department’s <strong>Central Station</strong>. Witnesses later told the <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em> that by the time firefighters arrived, the flames seemed to have “lit up all the lower part of the city.”</p> <h2>Efforts of Firefighters</h2> <p>Initially, firefighters seemed to be gaining control of the blaze until an explosion caused the fire to spread even more aggressively. A general alarm was raised to the rest of the city’s fire department. At least twenty streams of water were sprayed on the building but did little to squelch the flames.</p> <p>Firefighters soon decided to focus on saving furniture, records, and other belongings still inside the building rather than saving the structure itself. Nearly every railroad employee as well as several spectators were pressed into service. They removed almost all baggage from the baggage room. They also tried to salvage records from Union Depot offices. Firefighters entered several offices and haphazardly threw books and papers out of the windows; only some of them were later recovered. Other offices were either already burning or had their doors blocked by burning debris, making them impossible to enter.</p> <h2>Rumors of Arson</h2> <p>Although many belongings in the building were saved, police suspected that other property at the station was stolen by spectators—not uncommon at nineteenth-century blazes. <strong>Julius Pearse</strong>, chief of the Denver Fire Department, worried that the fire may have been arson, especially after another conflagration occurred four days later at the Champa Block, a group of business buildings at the north corner of Fifteenth and Champa Streets. He reported that the fire department had struggled with low water pressure from their hoses at both fires. While Pearse acknowledged that faulty equipment could have played a role, he suspected that the hoses had been cut by thieves hoping to pickpocket bystanders and steal valuables brought out of the buildings. Investigations into the Union Depot fire have never conclusively confirmed that it was the work of arsonists.</p> <h2>Total Damages</h2> <p>Within forty-five minutes after the fire was discovered, much of Union Depot’s interior was destroyed. Newspapers estimated that the original building had cost between $300,000 and $500,000 to build. The<em> New York Times</em> described it as the “handsomest and mostly costly railroad station in the West.” Now only the building’s stone walls and a portion of its interior remained intact.</p> <p>Not only was the building destroyed, but several telegraph wires were burned in the fire as well. Two-thirds of all telegraph wires coming into Denver went through Union Depot, and nearly all of these were incinerated, severely hampering railroad communications in the region. <strong>Western Union</strong> had telegraph wires outside of Union Depot and was able to maintain communications between railroad companies so that the railroads could continue to function despite the damage.</p> <h2>Resurrection</h2> <p>Railroads continued to use Denver’s burnt shell as a station after the fire. Debris was cleared from the main entrance, and the building’s few undamaged rooms were used as waiting rooms. The Pullman Car Company parked a railroad car on Wynkoop Street to serve as a ticket booth.</p> <p>Plans to rebuild Union Depot took shape immediately. The original Italian Romanesque walls remained and were incorporated into the new construction to help streamline the building process, which city officials correctly estimated would take only two months. Thanks to cheaper labor and materials, officials also successfully projected that they would be able to erect a new, improved station (with a taller clock tower) for under $225,000, less than the cost of the original. Denver citizens managed not only to recover from the fire but to emerge stronger, improving upon the original structure of the building and creating the basis for the Union Station that residents and travelers know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kennedy-anna" hreflang="und">Kennedy, Anna</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/union-depot" hreflang="en">Union Depot</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/union-station" hreflang="en">Union Station</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fire" hreflang="en">fire</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fire-history" hreflang="en">fire history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arsonk" hreflang="en">arsonk</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Denver Depot Fire,” <em>Salida Mail</em>, March 23, 1894.</p> <p>“Great Loss at Denver: The Union Depot Completely Destroyed by Fire,” <em>Rocky Ford Enterprise</em>, March 22, 1894.</p> <p>Dick Kreck, <em>Denver in Flames: Forging a New Mile High City</em> (Golden: Fulcrum, 2000).</p> <p>&nbsp;“The Union Depot Destroyed: Denver’s Fine Passenger Station Building Was Burned Late Last Night,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, March 18, 1894.</p> <p>“Union Station at Denver Burned,” <em>New York Times</em>, March 19, 1894.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Michael Madigan, “Depot Rises From Ashes,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, December 25, 2008.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 06 Jul 2020 22:04:17 +0000 yongli 3360 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org