Boulder County, Colo. - The Boulder Rural Fire Protection District and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office are calling the Sunshine Fire extinguished. While active fire suppression efforts concluded on March 23, several small fires occurred after that. Smoldering tree roots would flare, which fire crews would put out quickly. Agencies were not ready to call the extinguished until the area had a prolonged period of soaking rain.

The Sunshine Fire was reported March 19 at approximately 1:40 a.m. on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks land. The fire started in the area of a homeless camp west of the Centennial Trailhead in lower Sunshine Canyon.

The fire burned 74 acres, and over 300 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the blaze. The cost of the suppression effort is estimated at over $800,000. A large portion of that cost was for aircraft used to contain the fire.

The investigation is still ongoing to identify the suspect(s). The associated case number is 17-1599.

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Commander Nick Goldberger

For more information contact:
Jeff Webb, Fire Marshal – Boulder Rural Fire Protection District,
303-530-9575
Jay Stalnacker, Fire Management Officer – Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, 303-441-1481