Nearly all of the inhabited areas affected by the East Troublesome Fire were within Grand County. An entire town – Grand Lake – was evacuated, as well as the outskirts of two more towns – Granby and Hot Sulphur Springs – and the remaining areas surrounding Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, and Tabernash were all placed on pre-evacuation notice. Outside of Grand County, the fire forced evacuations in the western ends of Estes Park and much of the southern parts of Rocky Mountain National Park. (R&J Liquors, Granby, Colorado)

The hills and mountains above Granby, which are largely uninhabited, were completely scorched. The fire just barely reached the Granby city limits and burned mostly brush in this area. (Highway 40, south of Granby)

North of Granby, the fire burned through mainly grasses and shrubs before it was stopped just short of the city limits. (Highway 34, north of Granby)

In some areas near Lake Granby, the fire jumped Highway 34 and burned right up to the shoreline of the lake. (Highway 34, along Lake Granby)

Stretches of shoreline along Lake Granby’s westernmost side were completely burned. Firefighters were able to use the lake as a fireline to prevent the blaze from spreading to parts of Tabernash and Granby. (Lake Granby)

Most of the mountains on the western and northern sides of the city of Grand Lake were scorched. (Grand Lake, Colorado)

West of Grand Lake near Columbine Lake

West of Grand Lake near Columbine Lake

West of Grand Lake near Columbine Lake

West of Grand Lake near Columbine Lake

The Grand Lake entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park were closed, as well as Kawuneeche Visitor Center. A smaller park road remained open with access to employee residences (which had mostly been saved from the fire), a singed picnic ground along the Green Mountain Trail, which was virtually gone, and some residences just outside the park. The fire burned both sides of this smaller road. (Trail Ridge Road, west of Grand Lake)

Forested areas along the southern end of Rocky Mountain National Park were almost completely burned. (Green Mountain Trail)

Before the fire reached their land, some homeowners cut down trees around their properties in hopes of stopping the burn before it reached their homes and other structures. Many of these trees were left along the side of the road where they burned away from buildings. This homeowner cut down all trees on their property except a couple right up against the house, which were visibly singed on one side. The house survived. (Columbine Lake, Colorado)

Since the fire retreated, landowners and maintenance crews have begun laboriously removing affected trees. (Columbine Lake)

The fire mainly burned the outer layers of the trees, rendering the bark unrecognizable but leaving the inner rings completely raw. (Green Mountain Trail)

Burned wetlands left behind skeletons of willow shrubs and evaporated marshes. (Green Mountain Trail)

The waterways of the burned wetlands could be traced by the patterns in the snow. Water is completely absent from these areas now. (Green Mountain Trail)

Hundreds of homes were completely burned to the ground, such as this log cabin near Grand Lake, leaving only chimneys, foundations, and skeletons of cars behind. (Highway 34, south of Grand Lake)

Some homes were saved on the spot by firefighters. Trees and grass on all sides of this home just outside Grand Lake were completely burned, but firefighters’ lucky placement meant that the home itself was saved. (Highway 34, south of Grand Lake)

A map of the East Troublesome Fire at its peak. Stars indicate areas photographed in this slideshow. Light blue indicates towns. Red indicates burned areas. Map taken from ArcGIS.