Colorado wildfires spark concerns over tourism fallout

Colorado wildfires spark concerns over tourism fallout

By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY
June 26, 2012
The Pikes Peak Cog Railway and Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center will reopen tomorrow. An official of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb scheduled for July 8 says he's "cautiously optimistic" the event will go off as planned.
Original post: As crews worked Tuesday to contain eight separate fires in Colorado, tourism officials sought to quell concerns among travelers, noting that the fires are primarily in isolated areas and are not affecting major visitor areas.

But in Colorado Springs and nearby Manitou Springs, a handful of attractions remained closed since the outbreak Saturday of the Waldo Canyon Fire. They include the popular Pikes Peak Cog Railway and Cave of the Winds.



RELATED: Colorado: Updates on the fires, vacation tips

The wildfire, burning 10 miles west of Colorado Springs, posed no threat to the city, though the road to Pikes Peak was closed, mainly to prevent people from gathering to watch the fire, said Chelsy Murphy, spokesperson for the local convention and visitors bureau.

"Our city is operating as normal. We're keeping an eye on it, but we're open for business," she said. Updates on conditions and closures are at visitcos.com/fireinfo.

Colorado Tourism Office director Al White told the Associated Press it's too early to determine what impact the fires will have on the state's $10 billion tourism industry, but "the active fires represent a very, very small piece of Colorado."

Unusually hot, dry conditions have fueled wildfires in several western states, including Utah, Nevada and Wyoming. In New Mexico, a fire on Monday was contained north of Santa Fe near Chimayo. The village is the site of the 19th-century El Sanctuario de Chimayo, which attracts 300,000 visitors annually. Another fire that burned about 70 square miles near Ruidoso, N.M., was declared 90% contained on Monday and evacuees were returning to their homes.