Memorial Day in Colorado mountains to look different due to fire, reservations and COVID-19 Miles Blumhardt, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Cameron Peak Fire scars Poudre Canyon lives, landscape
Replay Video UP NEXT
The pandemic and the Cameron Peak Fire have put a significant crimp on recreating on the Roosevelt National Forest and in Rocky Mountain National Park over the past year, with lingering impacts continuing this year.
While COVID-19 restrictions have largely been lifted, visitors to the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the national forest and the national park will be impacted visually and physically as the busy Memorial Day weekend approaches.
The pandemic and the Cameron Peak Fire have put a significant crimp on recreating on the Roosevelt National Forest and in Rocky Mountain National Park over the past year, with lingering impacts continuing this year.
While COVID-19 restrictions have largely been lifted, visitors to the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the national forest and the national park will be impacted visually and physically as the busy Memorial Day weekend approaches.
The nearly 209,000-acre fire, the largest in state history, has closed large sections of the national forest and park. The burn scar is visible in large swaths of mountainsides along the Poudre River from Rustic west to Chambers Lake and in the park.
Columnist Jill Bartelt reveals the wonder and peace of star-gazing starcourier.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from starcourier.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
A stand of burned trees and charred ground is seen in Larimer County after the Cameron Peak fire ripped through the landscape.
Charred tree trunks rise from the mountains along the burn scar of the Cameron Peak Fire, a scene so alien one Larimer County commissioner could only describe it as a “lunar landscape.”
Colorado officials hope this sight the aftermath of the largest wildfire in state history leads the federal government to pump more dollars into preventing fires and dealing with their effects.
Gov. Jared Polis and leaders from all levels of government toured the burn scar along the Cache de Poudre River Friday. The group included U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, as well as U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett, Democrats who have emphasized wildfire prevention and the restoration of public lands during the first months of the Biden administration.
Even months after the Cameron Peak Fire s full containment, some of Colorado s forests are still closed to the public. However some areas reopened this week, the U.S. Forest Service said in a release on February 19.
The Cameron Peak Fire, Colorado s largest wildfire in history, burned over 200,000 acres between August 13, 2020, and December 2, 2020. The 111-day wildfire destroyed hundreds of structures, including homes and historic sites, in addition to charring hundreds of thousands of acres of forest in Colorado, much of which was used for recreation purposes by Coloradans and tourists alike.
Get our free mobile app
The forest damage was so severe that even over two months since Cameron Peak Fire s full containment, the U.S. Forest Service is still slowly reopening access to the public in recreational areas near Fort Collins.