YOUR AD HERE »

North Routt explosion left hole in the ground across from historic cabins

Responders also doused a structure fire in Hayden this week

Firefighters from the West Routt Fire Protection District work to ensure the flames were extinguished after being called to put out a barn fire Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 7750 Scenic Drive just outside of Hayden. Because there was no road leading to the area where the barn was located, firefighters had to lay out a lot of hose to reach the flames.
John F. Russell/Steamboat Pilot & Today

North Routt Fire Protection and the Routt County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of an explosion shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, at the corner of Routt County Road 129 and Forest Service Road 490.

Little remained of the unoccupied 3,000-square-foot building across from the Historic Cabins at Columbine when first-responders got there, according to Paul Rose, a North Routt firefighter.

“What the running theory is, a neighbor saw the roof slide the day prior, and we’re thinking that might have hit one of the propane pipes that was alongside the propane meter that was alongside the house and probably pumped the house full of propane all night, and then some sort of ignition kicked on in the morning and the whole thing went up,” he said.



Rose wasn’t on scene but referenced the report and attached pictures, which the district did not pass along to the Steamboat Pilot & Today.

The explosion reportedly left a 10- to 15-foot hole in the ground where the structure was, and blew out windows on a nearby building. Nearby trees caught fire as well. 



Around 4 p.m. Thursday, March 9, the West Routt Fire Protection District responded to an agricultural building fire north of Hayden. 

Responders encountered some difficulty accessing the building on Scenic Drive off of County Road 76 with the wind and snow. 

Firefighters for the West Routt Fire Protection District put out a barn fire Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 7750 Scenic Drive just outside of Hayden. Because there was no road leading to the area where the barn was located, the firefighters had to lay out a lot of hose to reach the flames.
John F. Russell/Steamboat Pilot & Today

“We ended up pulling about 350 feet of 3-inch hose through probably knee-deep snow down to the barn to make an attack on that,” according to West Routt Chief Trevor Guire. 

“We knew what we were up against, so we had a plan in place when we got on scene,” he continued. “I don’t think it delayed our water delivery very much at all — maybe a minute.”


Get the top stories in your inbox every morning. Sign up here: steamboatpilot.com/newsletter

The fire originated in an unoccupied apartment of the agricultural barn on the property, Guire said, and only about 25% of the building was affected, although some nearby chickens were disrupted. Guire suspects the flames started from an electrical issue.

“That was the only heat source in the area of most damage,” Guire said. “Beyond that, I can’t really say.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.