Four Mile Canyon Fire

After a stressful week, the Four Mile Canyon Fire is allegedly 83% contained, with 166 homes destroyed by the blaze (source: Daily Camera). Of course, that doesn't account for the houses with sprinkler systems that went off almost a week ago. In terms of property damage, this is the worst fire in recorded Colorado history.

As for the Gold Hill Inn and historic downtown Gold Hill, it survived the fire—barely.

The Bluebird Inn is in the bottom right-hand corner of the following picture. The Bluebird was the town's hotel from 1873-1920, when the Holiday House Association bought it for their summer retreats. The HHA was a group of single, professional women from Chicago who went by the name "Bluebirds." They were present in Gold Hill throughout the first half of the 20th Century, and sold the Bluebird and the Gold Hill Inn in the 1950s. Both buildings were sold to the Finn family in 1962.

This is a view from in front of the Gold Hill Inn, which abuts the Bluebird Lodge to the west. The fire is raging just behind it.

According to witnesses, this picture captures the exact moment when the town was saved. Firefighters at the scene reported that the wind calmed for about a minute, and during that brief respite a bomber dropped slurry on the south side of town. Residents are currently attempting to find information about the pilot of this plane, in order to thank him/her.Though the historic community of Gold Hill was spared the fire, there are still hundreds of individuals and families who have been profoundly and devastatingly affected. Even those whose homes didn't burn have been displaced, and the mountain communities now lack infrastructure. Not to mention that the Four Mile Fire Station in Salina burned down, and the Boulder County Volunteer Fire Stations have lost much of their tax base.

If you're interested in giving to the firefighters who lost their houses as well as to the Salina Volunteer Fire Department, you can easily donate $10 by texting "FIRE" to 27722. You can get more information about that here.

As for me, I'm planning a new oral history project on the Four Mile Canyon Fire. If you know anyone who is interested in being interviewed about their experiences, you may leave a comment here or contact me at mckennaarchives@gmail.com.

*All photos courtesy of Kurtis Leverentz and goldhilltown.com.

The Labor Day Fire

A fire started today in Emerson Gulch, which is off of Four Mile Canyon and three-tenths of a mile south of Gold Hill, Colorado. According to my parents, who are currently 4 miles north of Ward, the winds have reached 70-80 mph blowing north-northeast. The Longmont Times-Call reports that a fire truck and three structures have burned so far. Gold Hill is being evacuated, along with fire crews.
Here is a photo published by the Longmont Times-Call:



Here are some photos of the foothills that I took in the last hour:




Notice the contrast between the sky towards the Flatirons to the south and the sky northward. That wind is blowing pretty hard to keep the smoke from traveling south.


I am currently quite involved in Gold Hill—apart from the friends who live there, I am conducting an oral history project on the Gold Hill community and I also work as a waitress at the Gold Hill Inn.


Gold Hill is one of the most unique mountain communities in Colorado. Founded in 1859, it celebrated its sesquicentennial last year. The town is a National Register of Historic Places District, and it is an important cultural resource for the study of Colorado mining history.

More than anything, Gold Hill is a place where the residents strive to maintain their sense of history and place. They run the Gold Hill School, which has been in operation since 1873, and the Gold Hill Museum, which is dedicated to preserving and maintaining the town's heritage. They have fought to keep their streets unpaved and their school open when the Boulder Valley School District sought to close it. Gold Hill residents spend their evenings at the Gold Hill Inn, where they play music and drink in the dining hall.

The Gold Hill School, which serves residents of Gold Hill and Ward and teaches children k-5:


The Gold Hill Inn (right) and the Bluebird Lodge (left):


My recent history research is about how the Gold Hill community maintains and understands its heritage. As someone whose life is framed and punctuated by thoughts of history, and who believes that the study of history is essential to understanding humanity, the Gold Hill community's approach to heritage is especially heartening. And now we can only wait and see if this important cultural resource--this incredibly unique place--will survive. There is something particularly painful about the threat of annihilation to such a powerfully historic community.