Fire destroys log cabin in Colorado mountains
A log cabin known to locals in the Aspen community as Grant's Cabin burned to the ground Saturday after catching fire.
Aspen Fire Protection District learned of the blaze at 10:27 a.m., according to the department's social media post about the incident. Fire was reportedly first seen on the northwest side of the approximately 400-square-foot cabin, but the fire was already taking the entire structure by the time personnel managed to get to it.
The cabin lies on the southwest slope of 11,212-foot Aspen Mountain, opposite the runs of Aspen Snowmass ski area. The fire was visible to people at the resort's Sundeck restaurant on the mountain's ridge, according to the fire department.
"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," the department stated in its Facebook post. "With increasing afternoon winds, protecting nearby vegetation and mitigating the risk of a wildland fire became the primary operational objective."
The fire was contained at roughly 12:30 p.m. Some crew members were tasked with monitoring the fire scene overnight while the department also watched the area remotely through its Pano AI wildfire detection camera network.
According to articles by the Aspen Daily News, Grant's Cabin was built in 1988 by Grant Timroth. Timroth acquired an adjacent mining claim that same year and built the cabin for he and his wife. Due to legal complications with the title acquired from its previous owner, Timroth lost possession of the mining claim and the cabin in a decision reached in 2004 by the Colorado State Supreme Court. Ownership was awarded to Pitkin County and the couple was evicted the following year.
The cabin, located a short distance from the top of the ski resort's Silver Queen gondola lift, was a gathering place for locals who carried on a "tradition of backcountry skiing, beers, hot dogs and sunsets" for decades, both during the couple's tenure and since, according to those articles.
The cause of Saturday's fire is under investigation.
