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Commission backs 250-foot Black Ridge tower to restore emergency communications for LaSal area
Summary
After testimony from volunteer firefighters and residents about repeated communication failures during the Deer Creek Fire and other emergencies, the County Commission approved a letter urging the Bureau of Land Management to approve a 250-foot communications tower on Black Ridge.
The Grand County Commission voted unanimously to send a letter to the Bureau of Land Management endorsing a 250-foot communications tower on Black Ridge to improve cellular and radio service in the LaSal/LaSalle area. The motion, made by Commissioner McCurdy and seconded by Commissioner McCandless, passed with all commissioners present voting in favor.
Residents and volunteer first responders from LaSal told the commission during the citizens-to-be-heard portion that the area is a cellular dead zone and that communications failures during the Deer Creek Fire left people and emergency crews unable to reach one another. Volunteer firefighter Sarah Libby said a department survey of 34 homes found none could call 911 reliably from inside the house; she said delaying access to emergency services had resulted in deaths of local residents. TC Garcia, a volunteer firefighter, and other residents described the loss of a local wireless Internet tower during the Deer Creek Fire and urged commissioners to back a tower tall enough to provide broad coverage.
Commissioners and staff discussed the tower’s height, noting that taller towers extend coverage but require night‑time safety lighting and that federal and US Fish and Wildlife mitigation measures may apply. Commissioner McCurdy and others emphasized the public‑safety consequences experienced during the Deer Creek Fire and urged the county to support the BLM application. Commissioner Trish (joined online) recommended the county ask applicants and BLM to consider US Fish and Wildlife Service mitigation guidance for avian impacts and to minimize viewshed and lighting impacts for nearby residents.
County staff moved an updated letter of support onto the record that specifically referenced the communication failures experienced during the Deer Creek Fire and recommended approval of a 250‑foot tower to provide reliable emergency communications for residents and first responders. The commission approved the letter unanimously.
Ending: Commissioners directed staff to transmit the letter to BLM and asked that agency and applicants consider wildlife and viewshed mitigations described during the discussion. The approval was framed as an expression of public‑safety support rather than a land‑use decision by the county.
