ALLENSPARK, Colo.—A wind-driven fire heavily damaged a Roman Catholic retreat near Rocky Mountain National Park on Monday, but a church visited by Pope John Paul II was spared, authorities said. There were no injuries.
About 70 firefighters brought the blaze under control several hours after it erupted Monday morning, said Boulder County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Rick Brough (BRUFF). The cause was unknown, but investigators were looking at a fireplace used by workers at the retreat, Brough said.
No guests were at the St. Malo Retreat Center Monday. Electricity had been cut over the weekend by high winds, prompting the retreat to send guests home, said Jeanette De Melo, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Denver.
The fire damaged a community residence, kitchen, conference room, library and lounge, and an atrium roof collapsed, Brough said.
Pope John Paul II, an avid hiker, wore white sneakers with gold laces and a Boy Scout hiking stick that looked like a version of his pastoral cross while visiting Camp St. Malo in 1993.
Camp St. Malo, about 65 miles northwest of Denver, was founded in the 1930s. The church named it after St. Malo, a sixth-century Welsh saint.
