Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,685. The county seat is Glenwood Springs. The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield. Garfield County is included in the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Edwards-Glenwood Springs, CO Combined Statistical Area.
Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day.
The City of Louisville is a home rule municipality located in southeastern Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 21,226 at the 2020 United States Census. Louisville began as a mining community in 1877, experienced a period of labor violence early in the 20th century, and transitioned to a suburban residential community when the mines closed in the 1950s.
Basalt is a home rule municipality located in Eagle and Pitkin counties, Colorado, United States. The town population was 3,984 at the 2020 United States Census with 2,917 residing in Eagle County and 1,067 residing in Pitkin County. Basalt is a part of the Edwards-Glenwood Springs, CO Combined Statistical Area.
The Town of Carbondale is a home rule municipality located in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 6,434 at the 2020 United States Census. Carbondale is a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Tracer ammunition, or tracers, are bullets or cannon-caliber projectiles that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. When fired, the pyrotechnic composition is ignited by the burning powder and burns very brightly, making the projectile trajectory visible to the naked eye during daylight, and very bright during nighttime firing. This allows the shooter to visually trace the trajectory of the projectile and thus make necessary ballistic corrections, without having to confirm projectile impacts and without even using the sights of the weapon. Tracer fire can also be used as a marking tool to signal other shooters to concentrate their fire on a particular target during battle.
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 70 miles (110 km) long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort city of Aspen and the resorts of Aspen/Snowmass.
Mount Sopris is a twin-summit mountain in the northwestern Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 12,965-foot (3,952 m) mountain is located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest, 6.6 miles (10.7 km) north by northeast of the community of Redstone in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States.
The Roaring Fork Valley is a geographical region in western Colorado in the United States. The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado and the U.S. as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of the Colorado Western Slope. The Valley is defined by the valley of the Roaring Fork River and its tributaries, including the Crystal and Fryingpan River. It includes the communities of Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs. Mount Sopris and the Roaring Fork River serve as symbols of the Roaring Fork Valley.
The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority is an agency that operates public transportation for the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. RFTA's service area stretches 70 miles (110 km) from Aspen to Rifle, serving the towns in between consisting of Basalt, Snowmass Village, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, New Castle, and Silt. RFTA also operates seasonal ski shuttles, Maroon Bells Shuttles, Paratransit, and manages 41 miles of the Rio Grande Trail.
The Machine Gun Fire or Camp Williams Fire was a wildfire in Herriman, Utah in 2010 that burned several dwellings. It was started by a mistake at a firing range by National Guard troops on a training exercise. 4,351 acres burned, approximately 1600 homes were evacuated, and 3 homes were destroyed.
The Waldo Canyon fire was a forest fire that started approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 23, 2012, and was declared 100 percent contained on July 10, 2012, after no smoke plumes were visible on a small portion of the containment line on Blodgett Peak. The fire was active in the Pike National Forest and adjoining areas, covering a total of 18,247 acres. The fire had caused the evacuation of over 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Woodland Park, several small mountain communities along the southwestern side of U.S. Highway 24, and partial evacuation of the United States Air Force Academy. There were 346 homes destroyed by the fire. U.S. Highway 24, a major east–west road, was closed in both directions. The Waldo Canyon Fire resulted in insurance claims totaling more than US $453.7 million. It was the most destructive fire in Colorado state history, as measured by the number of homes destroyed, until the Black Forest Fire surpassed it almost a year later when it consumed 486 homes and damaged 28 others.
The 2012 Colorado wildfires were an unusually devastating series of Colorado wildfires, including several separate fires that occurred throughout June, July, and August 2012. At least 34,500 residents were evacuated in June.
The 416 and Burro Fire Complex were two wildfires that burned in the southwestern portion of Colorado in the United States in 2018. The fires burned predominantly within San Juan National Forest, 13 miles north of Durango and 14 miles south of Rico. The 416 Fire started on June 1, 2018, and the Burro Fire followed on June 8. Federal officials allege that embers emitted from a coal-burning steam locomotive used by the historic Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad started the blaze, and have filed a lawsuit against the railroad seeking recoupment of $25 million in firefighting costs, penalties and legal expenses. The fires burned a combined total of over 57,000 acres (23,067 ha) and have cost more than $43 million to contain. On March 31, 2022, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad reached settlements in two lawsuits stemming from its role in starting the 416 fire: one settlement with federal authorities in which the railroad would pay $20 million to the federal government and institute a fire mitigation program for its operations. In the second settlement, the railroad agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to home and business owners impacted by the fire and subsequent floods during the summer monsoon season that followed in the wake of the 416 fire.
The Pawnee Fire was a large wildfire that burned in Spring Valley in Lake County, California, in the United States. The fire started on June 23, 2018, and quickly expanded overnight, destroying 12 structures, and causing the evacuation of the entire Spring Valley area. It destroyed 22 structures, damaged six structures, and burned a total of 15,185 acres (61 km2) before it was fully contained on July 8, 2018. A Cal Fire investigation determined in April 2019 the cause of the fire was target shooting.
The Spring Creek Fire was a wildfire near Fort Garland and La Veta, Colorado in Costilla and Huerfano counties in southern Colorado. The fire burned a total of 108,045 acres and was the third-largest wildfire in Colorado history.
The Cranston Fire was a wildfire that burned in southwest Riverside County, California, in the United States. The fire was started on July 25, 2018, by Brandon M. McGlover, in an act of arson. The fire burned a total of 13,139 acres (53 km2), before it was fully contained on August 10. The Cranston Fire impacted the communities of Idyllwild, Mountain Center, and Anza as well as recreational activities in the Lake Hemet area, San Bernardino National Forest and Mount San Jacinto State Park. Over 7,000 people were evacuated due to the Cranston Fire. These communities also went without power for 11 days in 100° temperatures.
The Bond Fire was a wildfire that burned 6,686 acres (2,706 ha) in the Santiago Canyon area of Orange County, California in December 2020. The fire caused evacuations of 25,000 residents and injured 2 firefighters. The fire was very close to the burn scar of the Silverado Fire, which took place in October 2020.
The Marshall Fire was a destructive wildfire and urban conflagration that started on December 30, 2021, shortly after 11:00 a.m. MST, as a grass fire in Boulder County, Colorado. The fire killed two people and destroyed more than 991 structures to become the most destructive fire in Colorado history. It began in two places and was neither caused by criminal negligence nor intentional. As a result of the fire 37,500 people were evacuated.
The Range 12 fire was started on July 30, 2016 in eastern Washington at the Yakima Training Center east of Yakima, Washington near Moxee, Washington. It quickly grew to over 176,000 acres (71,000 ha) to cover parts of Yakima County and Benton County. The fire was the third in recent years to affect the area surrounding the Hanford Reach National Monument and the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve near Rattlesnake Ridge. The fire was eventually contained through the use of controlled burns on Rattlesnake Mountain in Benton County due to concerns that the fire was getting too close to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, which had recently been compared to the Fukushima nuclear disaster by Newsweek magazine earlier in 2016. A lawsuit was filed by ranchers in the area due to loss of property, but was dismissed due to questions of jurisdiction. Even though there were no findings from the Anderson v. United States of America case, the dismissal document from May 21, 2019, points to a cause for the fire:
The Army training unit continued to engage in live fire training exercises through the afternoon on July 30, 2016. At approximately 4:40 p.m., one of the Army training unit's soldier's fired a machine gun at a target using tracer rounds. SJF ¶ 74. One of the tracer rounds ricocheted from the target area and landed on some brush, which started a brush fire. Id. The fire spread beyond the YTC and onto Plaintiffs' rangeland properties, causing property damage to Plaintiffs' cattle businesses.
