Grant’s Cabin, located on the back side of Aspen Mountain, caught fire early today. Sources at the scene said the cabin was destroyed. The Aspen Daily News will update this story as more information becomes available.
Grant’s Cabin, center, in the Richmond Ridge area of Aspen Mountain, smoulders around 1:15 p.m. following Saturday morning’s fire.
Editor
Grant’s Cabin, located on the back side of Aspen Mountain, caught fire early today. Sources at the scene said the cabin was destroyed. The Aspen Daily News will update this story as more information becomes available.
A fire on Saturday morning destroyed Grant’s Cabin on the back side of Aspen Mountain.
The Aspen Fire Protection District was dispatched to the structure fire on Richmond Ridge Road 10:27 a.m. and the fire was contained at 12:33 p.m., according to a press release.
More than 30 emergency responders arrived on scene to find the 400-square foot log cabin fully engulfed in flames.
Responding agencies included Roaring Fork Fire Rescue, Aspen Ambulance District, Pitkin County’s Sheriff’s Office, Aspen Skiing Company and the Bureau of Land Management.
Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol were first on scene.
Emergency personnel cut down trees that surrounded the cabin to prevent the fire from spreading. They also set up a temporary pool from which to draw water to enhance firefighting capabilities.
“Due to the cabin’s remote location, firefighters implemented a coordinated response focused on containing the structure fire and preventing its spread into the surrounding wildland fuels,” according to the release.
Grant’s Cabin, center, in the Richmond Ridge area of Aspen Mountain, smoulders around 1:15 p.m. following Saturday morning’s fire.
“With increasing afternoon winds, protecting nearby vegetation and mitigating the risk of a wildland fire became the primary operational objective.”
Emergency personnel cut down trees that surrounded the cabin to prevent the fire from spreading. They also set up a temporary pool from which to draw water to enhance firefighting capabilities.
Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to any of the surrounding vegetation.
A fire crew will remain on scene overnight to ensure there is no additional spread of the fire, according to the Aspen Fire Protection District.
The area is also monitored by the Pano AI wildfire detection camera network.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to the fire district, with additional information to be released as it is made available.
On the scene, there was speculation about whether a careless camper had stayed overnight in the camper, or whether a lightning strike from a previous day’s storm smoldered and caught fire.
There was talk about bulldozing the cabin, but what little remained was left intact until a full investigation can be completed.
The cabin was built by Grant Timroth in 1988, but he was evicted in 2005 after a lengthy legal battle determined the land belonged to the county and not Timroth, who argued he had ownership of the Twilight Lode mining claim.
Grant’s Cabin has long been — and continued to be after Timroth’s eviction — a popular gathering spot for skiers and other backcountry adventurists.
At 12:30 p.m., Aspen resident Zak Holt provided the Aspen Daily News with the lead photograph that accompanies this story. He was hiking in the Richmond Ridge area when he happened upon the blaze. Aspen Daily News staff photographer Jason Charme was also on scene.
Aspen Daily News Staff Writer Kari Dequine (kari@aspendailynews.com) contributed to this report.
andre@aspendailynews.com
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