Views Of The Forest
Rocky Mountain National Park, Burned And Unburned
Story and photos by Reid Neureiter
For the GPHN
A recent visit to the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park revealed the devastation of last October’s East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires. The National Park Service reports that fires impacted more than 30,000 acres — approximately 10 percent of the popular mountain park northwest of Denver.
The extent of the damage is shocking to anyone driving into the Park from Grand Lake, with the first few miles of Trail Ridge Road passing through vast swaths of incinerated forest and downed burnt tree trunks. Portions of the park look as if a nuclear bomb had exploded. A few miles further, in areas where the fires didn’t reach, the forest is intact and lush.
Rangers have issued directives that visitors may not stop or park along the roadside from the Grand Lake Entrance to the Onahu Trail (approximately three miles beyond the entrance), due to the hazard from trees along the road. Nor is there any access to trails, picnic areas or parking areas along this section of the road. While most of the damage is on the west side of the Park and the Park’s northern border, the fires crossed the Continental Divide, with the resulting damage closing the Park’s Beaver Mountain section.
Anyone planning a visit can check for current closures and view an interactive map showing the impacted areas at nps.gov/romo/learn/fire-information-and-regulations.htm.