Troublesome Festival returns to Grand Lake for third year in a row

GRAND LAKE, Colo. — Stephanie Conners doesn’t want to dwell on the East Troublesome Fire, which burned 193,812 acres near Grand Lake, Colorado, in 2020, making it Colorado’s second-largest wildfire in recorded history.

Conners and most of her friends lost their homes in the fire. As a bartender in town, she frequently hears patrons grieving the loss of their homes and seeking closure they believe would come with identifying how the fire started, which investigators still do not know.

While she believes grieving is important, Conners decided after the fire in 2020 that she wanted to memorialize the fire with a community celebration and fundraiser for fire mitigation and prevention education.

“We created a really intense commitment and love to each other and got each other through that awful experience,” she said.