Relief could be in sight for about 2,500 property owners in southern Teller County, who since mid April have been without the services of their taxpayer-funded fire protection district.
An impasse that started last year between volunteer firefighters and the board of the Four Mile Fire Protection District has reached a partial resolution, as the board hired a new fire chief Tuesday.
With a handful of wildfires burning in northwest Colorado, the development couldn't have happened sooner. "It has been very frightening knowing that, if there were a fire, services would be coming from either Florissant or Cripple Creek, 12 miles away, a half-hour drive, instead of five minutes," said area resident Barb Burdette.