After a devastating fire, Superior blazes new trails
SUPERIOR — Gladys Forshee, a resident of the Boulder County town of Superior, is working on a book called “Every Breath: A Story,” which will recount tales of the devastating 2021 Marshall Fire.
Mostly the book will treat the nightmare inferno the way the town’s leaders want the world to see it: as history.
The town has made great strides to rise from the ashes. Most of the debris has been removed, rebuilding is well underway, and tax rebates have been issued. Building permit review processes have been streamlined, and officials have worked to better understand residents’ needs.
The nonprofit Superior Rising has held multiple events to support all those impacted by the fire, helping smooth the process for those who are rebuilding and bringing in experts in fields such as construction and insurance.”
Great Outdoors Colorado awarded the town a $660,000 grant to help rebuild Children’s, Big Sagamore and Little Sagamore parks, which were destroyed in the fire, and the town has bought several fire-ravaged tracts for open space and flood mitigation, describing it as making the best of a bad situation.
The nonprofit Superior Rising has held multiple events to support all those impacted by the fire, helping smooth the process for those who are rebuilding and bringing in experts in fields such as construction and insurance.
The town board added fire-prevention regulations to its planning codes for the hard-hit Sagamore neighborhood, requiring construction to use noncombustible, ignition-resistant materials and a five-foot defensible space around homes.
The Boulder County town draws families and young professionals to new, upscale subdivisions such as Rock Creek Ranch, which originally was plotted in 1987 but continues to be developed.
Founded in 1896 and incorporated in 1904, the town began as a coal mining community and was named for the “superior” quality of coal — as well as for Superior, Wisconsin, from where the first settlers came.
When the mine closed in 1945, Superior became a quiet agricultural community with a population that hovered around 250 until Rock Creek Ranch was built. Superior saw a 3,433% population gain between 1990 and 2000.
Several historical sites and buildings were lost to the Marshall Fire, including an original mining-camp home in Asti Park that was believed to have been built in 1908. It housed the town’s history museum until the fire, but its supporters hope to build a replica on the same site.
Companies also are investing in Superior. The town’s future development plans include commercial, retail, multi-family residential units and single family homes. It boasts 594 acres of parks, green space and open space and 27 miles of trails. This spring, owners of Bigsby’s Folly Craft Winery & Restaurant proposed a Roaring ‘20s-inspired winery in Superior.
Superior often innovates in a Boulder-flavored way, such as raising the idea of using goats to control noxious weeds and the spread of wildfires, using a state grant to build two sections that will extend the U.S. 36 Bikeway, completing the purchase of 182 acres owned by CenturyLink for $15.06 million to be used as the town’s largest open-space parcel, and putting out a call for artists interested in adorning prairie-dog sculptures with unique designs to be placed around the town.