JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. - A beloved Jefferson County Park has been closed for nearly a year after The Quarry Fire scorched more than a third of Deer Creek Canyon Park, and fire fighting efforts also contributed to some damage.
"We had bulldozers go through and cut huge swaths of land and rip everything out, that's what was important at the time," said Matt Robbins, Interim Deputy Director with Jefferson County Open Space of fire lines dug into the park.
All of that loose earth initially meant a big risk of erosion or even landslides.
"We're really straight in line to Chatfield Reservoir, so we want to make sure we're not introducing sediment into the stream," said Mary Ann Bonnell, visitor services and natural resources director for Jefferson County Open Space back in August 2024, "Job one is water quality and making sure we don't impact water quality for larger JeffCo. In order to accomplish that, we had to defer some other tasks, and that's why the trail assessment is taking a little longer."
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Since then, crews have made significant progress.
"We were able to [re-vegetate] that and get those stabilized and then we worked on the more steep slopes after that," said Robbins.
While little glimpses of new life can be seen in some spots, Denver7 wanted to know: will all the progress get washed away in the super soaker storm pattern forecasted for this week?
"No, not from the parks perspective," Robbins told Denver7, "We dropped 10,000 pounds of native seed on the hillside via helicopter. We came then afterwards and dropped straw and then hydro mulch on top of that to secure it. The first bit of rainfall in early April, it solidified and locked it into place."
If the recovery efforts stick, so will the partial opening date set for May 15. A full park reopening is tentatively scheduled for August.
"You'll be able to hike right through where that burned area was, again, we want you to stay on trail," said Robbins.
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