Flames from Cameron Peak Fire
A digital photograph of flames from the Cameron Peak wildfire taken on a smartphone by Larimer County firefighter Mark T. Spring, October 17, 2020. The image shows blackened and burned brush near Redstone Canyon, with black smoke and flames featured prominently and rising in the background. Firefighters relied on bulldozer lines to restrict the spread of flames to other areas.
Mark's team traveled to several different areas to fight the fires between August 13-17 and October 17-22, including Rustic, Chambers Lake, Masonville, Bellvue, and Redstone Canyon. The fire was ultimately contained on December 13, and officially controlled on January 12, 2021. In all, 208,913 acres burned in Arapahoe National Forest, Roosevelt National Forest, and Rocky Mountain National Park, making it the largest wildfire in Colorado history. The previous record had been set just a few months prior by the Pine Gulch Fire near Grand Junction.
Photograph donated to History Colorado by Larimer County firefighter Mark T. Spring, who took the images on his smartphone while fighting the Cameron Peak Fire in August 2020.