Summit County Citizens Voice

Fire coverage dominates

A snapshot of Summit Voice page views the past few days shows that visits to the sites peaked on the days that the High Park Fire was burning most intensely.

A map of the High Park Fire created by Summit Voice contributor Mark Newby.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY —Every story in the most-viewed list was related to coverage of the High Park Fire in Larimer County. While we weren’t reporting from the scene fire, we used live feeds of fire briefings, social media and other sources to try and stay on top of what has become Colorado’s most destructive fire in terms of burned homes.

Each story also included multiple links to direct information sources about the fire and those were heavily used, with thousands of outbound hits on those sources. That’s what web journalism is all about.

Additionally, some exceptionally accurate maps of the fire from Summit Voice contributor Mark Newby helped drive traffic. The maps Newby created using public information from government sources were sometimes posted before the official updates from the Forest Service and Larimer County, helping readers understand the progression of the fire.

Unfortunately, federal agencies have cut off public access to some of the important data that enabled Newb and others to create accurate maps. We’ll be following up on that this week.

Filed under: biodiversity, climate and weather, Colorado, Drought, Environment, forest fires Tagged: | Colorado, Environment, forest fires, High Park Fire, News