Colorado farm uses nearly 100 campfires to save orchard from spring freeze

A cold snap moved through Colorado on Friday, bringing snow and freezing temperatures to areas where many spring plants are already in bloom. That led a business on the Western Slope to get creative in order to save its orchards.

The Sanders family opened the Palisade Peach Shack 17 years ago and has seen the farm grow from 8 to over 80 acres, but they say that this year's warm weather, coupled with the sudden freeze, nearly spelled disaster.

Owner James Sanders told CBS Colorado that they have never had a freeze when the fruit is in this stage of growth. At the moment, the fruit is at the stage they would normally see in the middle of May, with peaches the size of thumbs and hardened seeds. Sanders says this could have caused widespread damage to the orchards.

As the cold front moved in, the family quickly got to work, using propane burners, smudge pots, and pine scraps as fuel to keep the orchard warm overnight. Sanders says they set nearly 100 small campfires, placed every 30 feet, to push back the cold as temperatures dropped to around 27 degrees.

Sanders said the low temperatures "had us very scared."

Two dozen people worked through the night monitoring the fires and fans, and their work paid off, said Sanders. Their efforts raised the temperature in the orchards by eight degrees, keeping it above freezing and saving most of the peaches, apricots, and cherries.

Sanders said he's optimistic that no more than 10% of the crops were damaged, but they will know for sure in a week.

Thankfully, the weather will quickly rebound over the weekend, bringing temperatures near Palisade into the high 50s on Saturday.