In October 2020, Colorado experienced what would go down as one of the top-five largest forest fires in the state’s history. Ignited in the central Rocky Mountains east of Troublesome Creek in Grand County, the fire at one point whipped across more than 100,000 acres in a single day.

By the time snow and colder weather finally stopped the fire in late October, it had burned nearly 200,000 acres, destroyed 400 homes and structures, and killed two people.

On the Trail Rentals in Grand Lake played a big part in ongoing rebuilding and restoration efforts from May 15 to October 15, 2022. The Polaris Adventures Outfitter, which has been operating since 1994, cleaned and maintained three Ranger side by sides that Polaris donated to the efforts. Additionally, 11 On the Trail Rentals employees donated more than 3,000 hours of hands-on volunteer time to the East Trouble Fire Trail/Road/Bridge project.

Working alongside volunteers from Grand Lake Trailgroomers, the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and Student Conservation Association, the On the Trail Rentals crew helped build 5,000 linear feet of buck rail fence and 11 new bridges. They also cleaned up two burned-out RVs and placed nearly 50 new signs on the mountain.