YOUR AD HERE »

PHOTOS: A look back at the Grizzly Creek Fire and subsequent debris slides

NewsNews |

Chelsea Self
Follow

Share this story
Fire crews work to battle the Grizzly Creek Fire as it shoots down the ridge into No Name Canyon on Tuesday afternoon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Monday at MM 120.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent

This week marks the second anniversary of the Grizzly Creek Fire‘s eruption in Glenwood Canyon near mile marker 120 around 1:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. The fire burned until it was 100% contained on Dec. 18 and spread to 32,631 acres.

By Aug. 12, the fire had crossed both Interstate 70 and the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon. The power plant at the Shoshone Generating Station was evacuated, along with the communities of No Name, Lookout Mountain and Coulter Creek. Due to the fire’s location and the closure of I-70, the Grizzly Creek Fire became the nation’s top fire priority and was taken over by Type I crews.

Smoke from the Grizzly Creek Fire billows behind the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool in Glenwood Canyon after the fire blew up again in No Name Creek on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
A man watches from the Grand Avenue pedestrian bridge as smoke billows from the Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
A small engine air tanker flies around the smoke plume billowing from the Grizzly Creek Fire as it explodes on the south side of the Colorado River above Glenwood Canyon in August 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Embers from the Grizzly Creek Fire illuminate the mountains above Glenwood Springs on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. The Grizzly Creek Fire initially broke out along interstate 70 at mile marker 120 in Glenwood Canyon just east of Glenwood Springs.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Smoke lifts from the cliffs of Glenwood Canyon after the Grizzly Creek Fire tore through the area and continues to burn in spot fires along the canyon walls in 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
The Grizzly Creek Fire continues to burn up the ridgelines from Glenwood Canyon as seen from the air during a flyover with EcoFlight in August 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Smoke hangs low in the cliffs near the Hanging Lake rest area due to the Grizzly Creek Fire on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams and other forest personnel stop at the Hanging Lake rest area to assess progress of the Grizzly Creek Fire on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Smoke hangs low in the cliffs near the Hanging Lake rest area due to the Grizzly Creek Fire on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Fire crews work to battle the Grizzly Creek Fire as it shoots down the ridge into No Name Canyon after the fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020 at mile marker 120.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent

2021 debris slides

Glenwood Canyon and the burn scar experienced near daily heavy rain events the following summer in late July and early August leading to massive debris slides all throughout the canyon.

Burned logs float in a dammed portion of the Colorado River after a flash flood swept a major debris slide down the Devil’s Hole drainage in Glenwood Canyon near mile marker 124, bringing rocks, mud and debris into the river.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Crews work to clean the dirt and remaining mud from the roadways in Glenwood Canyon on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Colorado Department of Transportation crews work to unclog a box culvert that filled with mud and debris after a flash flood in Glenwood Canyon in late summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Evidence of a debris slide in a drainage in Glenwood Canyon near mile marker 125 in late summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Construction crews work on the lower deck of Interstate 70 as seen from the damaged portion of the upper westbound deck near mile marker 123.5 in late summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
A massive debris flow sits in the Colorado River after washing down the Devils Hole drainage in Glenwood Canyon near mile marker 125 in late summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Rocks and debris cover what used to be the trail to Hanging Lake after flash flooding in Glenwood Canyon in summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Rocks and debris cover what used to be the trail to Hanging Lake after recent flash flooding in Glenwood Canyon in summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Rocks and debris cover bridge number five along the trail to Hanging Lake after flash flooding in Glenwood Canyon in summer 2021.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent

Share this story
AdProof
See more

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’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.