Family Returns to Black Forest Burn Area

The first family to finish rebuilding their home after the Black Forest Fire is moving back to the burn area this week.

Wednesday marked the six month anniversary of the start of the wildfire near Colorado Springs. It became the state’s most destructive, destroying nearly 500 houses and killing two people.

The Gazette reports that work on dozens of other homes is continuing.

Meanwhile, the El Paso County sheriff and the Black Forest fire chief are in a dispute over the initial response to the blaze and how the fire started. Last month, Chief Bob Harvey said the fire was “probably” started intentionally. That angered Sheriff Terry Maketa, who said that the chief may be just trying to avoid responsibility for allowing the fire to get out of hand.