Crown Mountain Park is usually a pretty popular place on summer evenings. But Tuesday evening, the sidewalk is lined with people cheering and holding signs as fire trucks drive in. Firefighters wave shyly. Some are recording videos on their cell phones.
Residents have come out in droves to say thanks in person to the firefighting personnel, who many residents see as heroes.
Patricia Peterson just returned to her home in Basalt two days ago after being evacuated.
"I’m just so grateful to all the people that helped. We’ll be forever indebted to them. And we were lucky. Just lucky. But it’s because of the firefighters," said Peterson.
At one point this week, nearly 600 firefighters were working to contain the fire. Crews from all over the West joined local firefighters in their efforts, which protected homes and businesses in Basalt and El Jebel.
Incident managers say that people can also drop off thank you notes to firefighters and their families at the Eagle County Community Center.
