Villa Grove Colorado is on fire. It’s a little unincorporated town in Colorado and they’re already suffering a severe drought and water shortage and there’s not enough water to put the fire out and literally the whole town is on fire. This includes peoples homes a few small businesses in the town and this amazing pottery business that was a big tourist attraction.
Apparently there were helicopters being flown in from Colorado Springs that I guess they’re like those special ones equipped for fires, but the town is up in flames.
So this is a place experiencing extreme drought and water shortages. It’s on fire and the residents of this community and neighboring communities are also fighting data center issues in Colorado.
For me it really hits home that this is a place that doesn’t have water to spare, yet government wants to look the other way and allow data centers in the vicinity which suck water and energy.
Also, why am I posting this because I have friends that live there. This is personal.
https://www.mineralcountyminer.com/stories/south-forklooks-intodata-centers,143054
You have made my everyday existence become reality to so many. I do not have adequate words to thank you. Forward!
Love you dear friend
Yours was the only post I could find this morning on the whole internet that covered the news about the Villa Grove Fire. I am (was) an almost 10 year employee of Alan Yarmark. I showed up this morning and saw the devastation. I am usually the very first person to show up as I do all the finishing and I unload the kilns. The studio was left untouched but the fire consumed his home. He lived upstairs but all the shipping was downstairs. The metal building attached to the home was left a burnt out twisted mess. As I pulled in this morning, a lady approached my car. Her name is Annie Carhart. She seemed to think there was an explosion. The metal building had racks of boxes, plenty of paper products, pottery from China. I walked around everything. The area looked like it had been hit by a directed energy weapon but I’m sure there is a more mundane explanation forthcoming. Diane’s attached retail shop is gone. There was a 1000 gallon propane tank behind the back area that miraculously escaped. Fire spread to next door neighbor, Sam’s back fence. Just a few of us worked there. James, who did production, hydrocasting of slip into the molds, and his wife Selina, who did artwork. Chris in Shipping, Summer who did low fire and was doing a great job attaching handles and trimming mugs and tankards. Carissa who did waxing and low fire items. Russel had been working for the last two years building Alan’s blue metal two-story building. It was Alan’s long-term intent to move his living space to that building but that got quickened now because of the fire. I worked at the rear of the studio in a separate small building outside the back door. This building had three kilns and an area where I did my sanding/finishing. I showed up thinking I had a kiln to unload and stuff to finish for orders. The studio still has power, but no water. Phones and internet were in Alan’s home and now, gone. Fire dept was still there as of 6 am, this morning on August 6th. Putting out hot spots. They told me it happened about 12 hours ago or about 6 in the evening on the 5th. I walked around, but did not have a chance to see Alan or Diane, who I’m sure were exhausted from the night before. I start at 6:15 am each morning. Alan would come out to see how the kilns turned out after 7am.
It is complete devastation. My heart goes out to Alan and Diane. I’m pretty sure all of us are out of a job for the time being. Alan has been in the pottery business for over 50 years. It’s just heart-breaking for all. Always Azul was a landmark fixture in Villa Grove. Many tourists would stop by, some would check out the studio to see how it was made. It’s still early on August 6th as I write this. Thanks for covering this, and yes, it is personal. I get it.
Don Allen – Crestone
No, I wish I could do more, but I wanted to draw attention to this because I know what the water struggles are out there and I’m also following the data center issue out there. This was one of the great last wild places in this country and greed wants to gobble it up.
I live here since 1999. Near Crestone. BGW&S has water restrictions, major drought here, Blue Mesa Reservoir outside Gunnison is at historic lows. Fire, of any kind, is a major concern here for all. Aspen Acres fire is on other side of Sangre de Cristo mountains, east of our location. It’s at 71% containment, last I looked and yes, the San Luis Valley has gotten smoke from it.
As far as data centers, I have not read or seen anything being proposed for Saguache county. This part of the narrative makes no sense to me for water usuage and data centers. Some that I’m familiar with, use a closed loop system to recirculate water through piping, so no need for massive quantities. I don’t see where a data center could be of any possible use to anyone in San Luis Valley. SLVREC does not have nowhere near any capacity to support that kind of infrastructure. Any proposed data center will have to provide their own water and electricity. A demand for water from any proposed data center is outright foolish during a period of severe drought in our region. Any proposed data center in our region would be fought by the locals as vehemently as the 2006 Lexam mining company proposal to draw out water from the Aquifer when they proposed to drill. Locals at that time fought them off successfully. They wanted to drill down 14,000 feet below the aquifer to do fracking for LNP. Uh no you aren’t. If you have any specifics of a proposed data center i n Saguache county, I’d like to know. It would be BIG NEWS in this area, if it’s true.
I know nothing about the data centers proposed in your area other than the scattered media reports. You guys need to start asking questions sadly
No idea where you are writing from…but thank you! Your postings on Villa Grove fire were far more informative than anything I could find locally.
It sounds like it was quickly contained, but such a loss for the tiny community.
I’m writing from Pennsylvania. I have friends that live out there and in other parts of Colorado nearby.