Fire crews mopped up the remains of an intense but short-lived wildfire Tuesday at the YMCA of the Rockies near Granby that had threatened to spread to tinder-dry adjacent forests.
The fire broke out Monday afternoon near a cluster of large cabins and lit up 60- foot lodgepole pines. But firefighters quickly gained the upper hand, aided by a rapid response and fire breaks that the family resort has created by thinning dead trees.
“I think it played a huge role,” said Grand County Sheriff Rod Johnson. “The Y is kind of a leader in this forest-mitigation stuff. They’ve been working on the forest up there since before we had a lot of the beetle kill.”
Tens of thousands of acres of adjacent forest land, left brown and dying by an infestation of the pine-bark beetle, were at risk, but about 100 firefighters attacked the blaze within the first hour.
The fire forced the YMCA camp, known as Snow Mountain Ranch, to evacuate several cabins and a children’s camp. It also prompted Grand County officials to notify homeowners in a nearby subdivision, but no buildings were damaged.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire, which burned about 50 acres of woods and grasslands.
A logging crew was working nearby but not in the immediate area, Johnson said. The fire started in an area not commonly used by guests but close to the large cabins used for family reunions.
Officials were pleased that the evacuation of 354 youths and staff members participating in the traditional summer-camp program took only 15 minutes, a testament to weekly fire drills.
Activities resumed Tuesday after the campers stayed overnight at a Granby middle school.
Meanwhile, a 19-member hot shot crew from Craig relieved local firefighters in dousing the remaining embers while residents and guests breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s one vacation to remember,” said Cindy Mannas of Ardmore, Okla., who, along with her husband, David, was waiting Monday evening to rejoin her two teenage sons attending a family reunion. “It was scary.”
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
