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VIDEO: Iron Mountain fire near Glenwood Springs doused with fast helicopter response

Glenwood Springs Post Independent
A type 1 helicopter drops a large tank of water onto the fire that started on the northeast side of Iron Mountain late Monday afternoon.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — A quick air and ground attack on a wildfire that started along Transfer Trail below the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on Monday evening averted what could have been an extremely dangerous situation.

“The fire covered about 2 or 3 acres, and we were lucky there was not a lot of wind going on at the time,” Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Walt Stowe said Monday night.

“If there had been any wind at all, it could have blown back toward some cabins and been a real problem,” he said.



As it turned out, “it was almost a non-event,” he said. “Getting those helicopters in here as quick as they did was the big difference.”

The fire was reported on BLM land near Transfer Trail below the Adventure Park a little before 6 p.m., and by 6:30 p.m. two helicopters were on the scene making the first of two water drops that stopped the fire in its tracks before it had a chance to spread.



“After the second water drop, the threat of the fire spreading was diminished significantly,” Stowe said in a news release sent out about 7:20 p.m. Monday.

According to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Manager Nancy Heard, the park was evacuated in 35 minutes via the tram. She said the fire started just north of the top end of the park, looking down toward the old quarry.

The park had just conducted a fire drill last week, Heard said.

“We have an evacuation procedure that’s been in place for a decade, and we practice it once a year,” she said.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

A heightened fire danger continues in Garfield County, where restrictions and outright bans on fireworks, open fires and outdoor smoking remain in place in all or parts of the county.


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