Latest news with #JeffcoOpenSpace
CBS News
14-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Colorado park damaged by Quarry Fire set for partial reopening May 15
The Deer Creek Canyon Park area has had wildfires before, but none that worried community members quite like the 2024 Quarry Fire. A fast moving blaze, it nearly jumped the crest of the hill on Grizzly Drive, where neighborhoods sit, before low winds and fire crews were able to contain the blaze. Nearly 10 months after the fire damaged roughly 35% of the park, Jefferson County Open Space is set to reopen part of it May 15. "Our natural resources team is thrilled with where we are," said Matt Robbins, who works for Jeffco Open Space. CBS While Deer Creek is flowing and the spring green lights up the hillsides, the burn scare is still highly visible. But residents like Chris Miller are fine living with it, knowing that the park he and his wife regularly bring their dogs to will be available to them again. "We've been asking anytime we see somebody working at the pen space park. We're like, 'Do you know when it's gonna open? Do you have a feel?'", Miller joked. "They would never really give us a clear answer. They would just say, 'sometime this summer.' So, yes, very happy." The park had extensive damage, especially on the upper hillside elevations. Jeffco Open Space had to work on the amount of sediment that was draining from the creeks into Chatfield Reservoir, uproot trees and move rocks that were on unstable ground after the fires and fix trails damaged by bulldozer lines used to contain the blaze. During the partial reopening, park guests will be asked to stay on available trails until further notice. "The park has had a tough -- really tough -- 10 months, and we want to let people into the park, but we want them to know that we need to help the park as well," Robbins said. But the open space team knows how important this park as well as the others in the area are to residents and have been working as quickly as possible to give them back access to the space. "They started asking almost immediately after the fire," Robbins with a laugh. "And so we're thrilled that after 10 months we're able to offer two-thirds of the park." There will be a ceremony at Deer Creek Canyon Park May 15 to commemorate the partial reopening with a full reopening of the park expected to take place August 1. For those like Miller who live in the area, the excitement is palpable. On the first night of the fire, he told CBS Colorado there was a concern that the park would even survive at all. To have it avoid catastrophe and be open just a season later is a win for everyone down near Ken Caryl. "Honestly, it was fabulous that that was the end outcome," Miller concluded.
CBS News
01-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Colorado's Deer Creek Canyon Park to partially reopen as park recovers from Quarry Fire damage
Colorado's Deer Creek Canyon Park is scheduled to partially reopen this month after the Quarry Fire caused significant damage to the park in 2024. Jeffco Open Space said the park will open an hour before sunrise on May 15. Officials will also hold a ceremony from 10:30-11:30 a.m. to celebrate the park's reopening. CBS CBS Approximately 35% of Deer Creek Canyon Park was damaged when the Quarry Fire broke out last July. Since then, recovery efforts have been underway for fire suppression cleanup, trail maintenance, standing dead tree removal and erosion mitigation in severe and moderate burn areas. Cleanup crews also made water quality protection repairs to bulldozer lines on the east and west sides of the park. CBS Emergency Watershed Protection provided $350,000 to help cover helicopter mulch and seed drops for slopes that suffered severe burns. Jeffco Open Space used more than 10,000 pounds of native seed mix, some of which was sourced from JCOS parks, along with 60,000 pounds of straw mulch and pelletized hydro mulch to help stabilize slopes in the most erosion-prone areas. Officials said those efforts will help protect the Chatfield Reservoir from sediment runoff. Recovery work continues as the Conifer Wildland Division helps identify and remove hazard trees in burn scar areas and geologists assess rockfall hazards. CBS The parks' reopening was delayed until spring growth began to cover re-seeded areas due to concerns over off-trail use and the spread of invasive plants. Officials asked park visitors to stay on the trails to protect the area and for their own safety. Jeffco Open Space plans to fully reopen the park on Aug. 1, along with the seasonal reopening of the Black Bear Trail.
CBS News
29-01-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Lookout Mountain Road closures set to begin Wednesday night in Colorado
The road up Lookout Mountain will close overnights starting Wednesday night. Jefferson County officials say the closure is necessary to protect that beautiful stretch of road in Colorado's foothills. Keith Giacchino gets ready for a unicycle ride on sunny day on Lookout Mountain Road. A Douglas county resident, he comes up to Golden just about every other week for years. But lately, he's noticed some changes. "I would say there's more people that come up," he told CBS Colorado. "It's been more crowded." Not the worst type of change, but there are others that are causing action. Vandalism, trash and even gunshots in late evening hours has become an issue in the park. "Those are times when things get out of control and there's nobody here to help," Kieth said. People coming up to party within the park has been known for years but lately, the trend has ventured into places where there are safety concerns. Residents told CBS Colorado that their biggest worry is hearing gunshots in the late evening hours at the park. Jeffco Open Space spokesman Matt Robbins told CBS Colorado that those living on Lookout Mountain Road have brought shell casings to community meetings to show the issues they face. In conjunction with Denver Parks & Recreation did their own analysis on activity in the park after hours. "We did some analysis that actually demonstrated through cellphones that the park was actually busier on weekends at midnight than at 10 in the morning," Robbins said. After months of planning and two weeks of training, the gates on Lookout Mountain Road will close starting at 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. When Daylight Savings Time ends, the park closure will start one hour after sunset and end one hour before sunrise. "As of tomorrow, Wednesday the 29th, we'll be going with a fully functioning closure for that 4.1 miles," said Robbins. Park users like Keith say it's a good plan, citing a need to decrease trash and vandalism but also voicing a concern for firearms and fireworks and the potential it can create for wildfires in the area. Over the summer, the Goltra Fire burned roughly 10 acres just across the canyon from Lookout Mountain Road. "The people that are in here at night are trashing the bathrooms, leaving garbage every night and just partying and creating mischief," said Keith. But some residents aren't sold, worrying that the traffic and problems will simply come down the mountain towards their neighborhood. Robbins told CBS Colorado that there will be regular patrols to make sure it doesn't happen. The first stops will involve education but eventually could escalate to fines for trespassing on county property. "We have a tremendous relationship with Jeffco sheriff and Golden police so they as well as our own staff will be doing monetary sweeps throughout the park," Robbins said. As Keith begins his ride uphill hoping that the park remains clean, available and open for everyone to use responsibly.
