This is because last summer, the Quarry Fire occurred in this area. The wildfire started on the night of July 30 until August 9th, 2024, and burned 579.6 acres out of the park's total 1,637 acres. It was a very worrisome time for our neighborhood, but we were fortunate that the firefighting suppression response was exceptional, and there were no high winds during the fire to allow embers to fly many miles. Deer Canyon Park consists of steep slopes, rocky terrain, and elevations ranging from approximately 5,886 to 7,510 feet, with grasslands, shrublands, and dense mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests, so fire supression was an ongoing challenge. Over the next 7 days, firefighting resources arrived from around the Denver metro area and beyond.
Aircraft brought water and fire retardant to where they were most needed on a fire. We were fortunate that there were a few nearby reservoirs in our area. Air Tankers also dropped fire retardant foam on the fire. In addition, bulldozers and wildland firefighting vehicles, and two special "Hotshot" fighting teams also helped with the fire abatement in the high, rocky, steep hills. All of these hardworking teams were our heroes! There was no loss of life or property, and soon after, the hard year-long work of restoration began.
"Known damage to the park included fire suppression actions, trail tread maintenance needs, standing dead tree removal, and erosion due to severe to moderate burn areas. Urgent water quality protection repairs have already been made to bulldozer lines on both the east and west sides of the park. The Jefferson County Open Space secured over $353,000 in funding from the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) for helicopter mulch and seed drops, which took place from March 31 through April 2, 2025, to mitigate erosion on severe burn slopes. More than 10,000 pounds of native seed-mix, some of which was sourced from JCOS parks, and 60,000 pounds of straw mulch, as well as the pelletized hydro-mulch that was applied, will help stabilize the slopes in the most erosion-prone areas of the park, ultimately helping protect Chatfield Reservoir from sediment runoff."
My husband and I decided to hike a few trails in the park last weekend, beginning with the "hiker only" Meadowlark Trail, to see the results of all the restoration work.
It was so wonderful to see wildflowers growing all along the trail!
Tall native grasses were also thriving, and even more wildflowers!
The higher we climbed in elevation, the views became more spectacular. We could see the city of Denver in the far distance!
When we reached the Meadowlark Trail summit, we could see some of the remaining fire damage, both along the trail and in the distant foothills.
I took the short video above at the summit looking towards the canyon and some of the wildfire area.
As you can see from the remains of the wildfire damage, the restoration work continues, and the full opening of the park is expected to be August 1st, 2025. You can also see how difficult fighting a wildfire on these high, rocky elevations where venomous rattlesnakes and wild animals such as mountain lions and black bears also roam!
As we drove back home, we felt a bit exhausted, but also very grateful to have done the hike, to see nature recovering. We also felt grateful to all the first responders for the excellent job they did combating the wildfire, and the Jefferson County Park Service for all their diligent ongoing restoration work.
THANK YOU TO ALL!
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