STORM KING ANNIVERSARY
Glenwood Springs—23 years ago today, 14 firefighters lost their lives on Storm King Mountain. It’s a somber day for not only the city of Glenwood Springs but for the entire firefighting community. In what was officially called the South Canyon Fire, the lightning-sparked blaze began on July 2nd, 1994 as a small, fairly insignificant fire at the base of Storm King Mountain. Eventually more resources were sent to the fire as it continued to grow over the next four days in size and intensity. On July 6th, a surprise cold front accompanied by a sudden burst of high winds blew through South Canyon around 4 pm, pushing flames up the mountain and overcoming firefighters who were desperately trying to escape the rapidly-moving fire. Throughout the day and this evening many people will take the memorial hike up the Storm King Trail or stop by the Storm King Memorial at Two Rivers Park to honor the fallen 14; Don Mackey, Roger Roth, Jim Thrash, Kathi Beck, Tamera Bickett, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Douglas Dunbar, Bonnie Holtby, Jon Kelso, Rob Johnson, Terri Hagen , Robert Browning Jr. and Richard Tyler.
