Colorado's High Park Fire - Blowing-up out of Control - Saturday, June 9th
As many of you have seen in the news, Colorado is experiencing its worst drought year since 2002, and the fire season is erupting in full force, and as we send this, triple-digit temperatures are making matters worse. The question is—and it’s a serious concern—what will the ultimate impact be on the fly shops and anglers in this state?
The High Park Fire west of Fort Collins has consumed over 83,000 acres, and has digressed from 60 percent containment back to 45 percent containment after winds fueled a flare-up that claimed 57 additional homes last Friday. This fire can effect many of the drainages west of Fort Collins—specifically the Poudre—for years.
The Springer Fire is reportedly contained, but it forced the closure of Elevenmile Canyon, a key angler access area on the South Platte.
The state’s high priority blaze at this point is the Waldo Canyon Fire, burning west of Colorado Springs. This fire is reportedly zero percent contained, and it has consumed over 3,600 acres since Saturday.
There are a number of other fires burning throughout the state including near Durango. Stay tuned for more information. These regions, their rivers, and the businesses that depend on them, are going to need your support and prayers in the coming weeks.
3 Comments
As a guide in Colorado.. I am incredibly upset that your title for this is “Colorado On Fire.” It’s titles like this.. here and on the news.. that most negatively affects our industry. People are canceling trips because they think the entire state of Colorado is on fire.
The truth is.. less than 1% of Colorado is on fire. As of today, most of the fires DO NOT affect any of the fishable rivers in our state. The ONE river that has been affected in a major way is the Cache Le Poudre in Fort Collins. All other rivers have been unaffected.
Colorado is NOT on fire.
Hey John. We’re an industry pub, and in the business of reporting the news to people like you in the industry. I would be amazed if any of your clients read Angling Trade.
You can’t hide the fact that we have 0 percent snowpack and like 15 fires in the state. We’re trying to be proactive and helpful here and let people know what’s going on.
Did you read the part that says, “These regions, their rivers, and the businesses that depend on them, are going to need your support and prayers in the coming weeks.”?
The point of this forum is to get people thinking about ways industry members might help each other, as we did after Katrina, last year during high water, etc. Since you’re obviously doing so peachy, well be sure to leave you off the list when the time comes.