Colorado community affected by Alexander Mountain Fire works to keep reservoir that helped contain it

The Cedar Spring Reservoir in Northern Colorado has played a large role in fighting fires in Larimer County. Now, it's in need of costly repairs. 

At Storm Mountain, the views are stunning, the air is peaceful, and the community is strong.

"Incredible people, incredible neighbors," said Dean Grieve. "It's the kind of place when you come home, you exhale."

But it's also a community that's come together in the face of tragedy. The Alexander Mountain Fire burned nearly 10,000 acres and destroyed close to 30 homes in July and August of last year.

"One of the scariest situations I've ever been in," Grieve added.

The fire also threatened both Loveland and Estes Park, and might have been exponentially more disastrous had it not been for this reservoir; little but mighty. 

"They had set up a flight pattern coming from the east, go over my house and then hover and put their drafting hoses down into the water," said Grieve. They were taking over 200 loads of water a day out of the lake."

His next-door neighbor, Aaron Klee, is a wildland firefighter and stayed behind to help.

"It's a lot easier to do my job, not in my backyard," said Klee

Now he and Grieve, a retired Denver firefighter, are a part of a group working to keep the reservoir alive. 

"There's concern if that pipe fails, then you have the ability for water to come underneath the dam and compromise the dam."

The hardware that keeps the reservoir filled is estimated to be over 50 years old. It will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix it, or else risk having it drained.

"This work is very expensive, but I can tell you, it would be far less expensive to fix this type of a private reservoir that is saving public and private land than it would be to have seen this to go further and destroy, heaven forbid, the west side of Loveland or more homes," said state Sen. Janice Marchman who lives in Loveland. 

Marchman represents the area and is working with the community to help them apply for grants.

"One of the issues that we run into is, how can we do work on a private reservoir with public funds?" said Marchman. "And so, one of the ideas that has floated to the surface is this idea of bringing in the Colorado Water Conservation Board."

It's taking a village, but for this community, it's worth the fight to save the "Little Reservoir That Did" as one community member, Dave Hoffman, affectionately named it. 

"I think it's just kind of a quiet, kind of hero for the community," said Klee. "That unsung hero that people don't think about until there's an emergency."

A group of seven families on the mountain, including Klee and Grieve, teamed up to create a non-profit and acquired the reservoir a few months ago.  Their hope is that the move will help them obtain grants, while their goal is to facilitate the repairs for the reservoir as well as maintain the property.