JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Amid questions about when Deer Creek Canyon Park may reopen in the wake of the Quarry Fire, officials with Jefferson County Open Space provided the first of several updates on the condition of the park.
The park remains closed until further notice.
"We've got probably about 46 acres of severely burned land," said Mary Ann Bonnell, visitor services and natural resources director for Jefferson County Open Space.
While that may be only a fraction of the entire park, there is still a risk of erosion and possible hazards yet to be assessed.
"In order to fight the fire, there were a lot of things that were done to create fire lines. Two [bull]dozer lines were put in to create a fire break," Bonnell said. "We're trying to repair those so that in a monsoon, we don't lose half that soil down the side of the mountain."
One dozer line has been reseeded, covered in mulch and now has waddle tubes placed along the mountainside to slow any erosion. Parts of a second dozer line is in the process of being covered up.
"We're really straight in line to Chatfield Reservoir, so we want to make sure we're not introducing sediment into the stream," Bonnell said. "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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While it's clear some trails in the park were impacted, the complete assessment is ongoing. Following that, the hazard management portion of the restoration project will take place.
"We're going to need to have some things in place, maybe additional fencing, maybe additional signage, before we can really say visitors can come in here and safely enjoy this park again," Bonnell said.
The nearby Black Bear Trail and Rattlesnake Gulch Trail are also closed, as they lead into Deer Creek Canyon Park.
Officials said it's challenging to give a timeline of reopening without those assessments, but they are expected to give more updates as they make progress in the park.
"Give this park space and time to heal," Bonnell said. "Give us space and time to assess and to try to move into that repair and recovery mode and remove hazards."
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