Early this month, Summit County Water Rescue Team member Brandon Ciullo lamented that the lower Blue River may never be commercially raftable again.

For years, the odds have seemed to be stacked against the river’s raftability. Controlled by flows from the Dillon Reservoir, the Blue River is especially susceptible to drought conditions and has seen lower flows in recent years due to growing water demand from the Front Range.

But this year, all the stars aligned. Thanks to persistent, above-average precipitation in 2022, Summit County’s drought status was lifted in September 2022, and near-record precipitation this spring in Denver cut down demand dramatically, causing Denver Water to allow the reservoir to “fill and spill” since it has reached capacity.

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“The excitement was at an all-time high,” Ciullo said. “Mostly because the river hasn’t run in three years and its a very, very fun stretch.”

Locals, most of whom moved to Summit County for the world-class recreation, love the stretch of the lower Blue River because it is closer to home than the Arkansas River or Colorado River, Ciullo said. So, “it’s fun to be able to get out of work and go run a lap.”

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Summit County rafting companies also adore that short stretch because it is the only commercially raftable water in the county. With Class 3 rapids, it is exciting but not overly technical and offers visitors stunning views of the Gore Range.

Lauren Swanson, the marketing manager for the Breckenridge rafting company Performance Tours, said the company started whitewater rafting operations on the lower Blue River last Friday and expected the season to be two or three weeks.

“Anytime we are able to run the Blue, it is a great summer for rafting,” Swanson said. “It means all of our rivers are healthy. It means we’re probably not in a drought. So there were a lot of reasons to celebrate being able to go rafting on the Blue this year.”

Then, almost as quickly as the short-but-sweet Blue River season stoked excitement, a downed log stymied it. On Monday, June 19, Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons closed the river to all watercraft due to a downed tree across the river.

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FitzSimons described the log as a “life-threatening strainer” and noted that three rafts had already crashed into the tree. Luckily no one was drowned or injured, he said, citing the Sheriff’s authority under Colorado law to close the river for safety reasons.

“When you enter the Boulder Creek rapids, you make a hard 90 degree turn. Then, that tree was right there.” Ciullo said. “Every single vessel that would be on that river would end up smashing into it.”

It was smart to close the river, Ciullo said, but their hopes were crushed. Just days into the season, it seemed as though the Blue River would remain closed for the year, since government agencies don’t usually remove obstacles like this from the water, he said.

“It was like a ski resort closing on a powder day,” Ciullo added.

Then, on Wednesday, June 22, the Summit County Water Rescue Team paged Ciullo. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were on scene and requested swiftwater technicians to assist with assessing the feasibility of removing the strainer.

“They felt it was non-feasible and too much of a risk to remove the tree,” Ciullo said. “So we gave up, thinking the season was over.”

But, just as the Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were packing up to leave, Charlie Stubblefield, the owner of the towing company Mountain Recovery, rolled up. 

A night or two earlier, Stubblefield said the owner of Performance Tours had called him, asking about the feasibility and cost of removing the tree from the river. So, around lunch on Wednesday, Stubblefield went to check it out.

“When I got off the phone (with Performance Tours), I was like there was probably going to be some red tape here,” Stubblefield said. “It’s probably going to take a bit, if it even comes to fruition.”

The stars aligned once again though. Suddenly, the towing company with the equipment to move the log, the Colorado state officials who could give the official go-ahead and Ciullo, who connected both parties, were all in the right place at the right time.

Soon, Mountain Recovery had their 50-ton wrecker — known as the “hulk truck” — on scene, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials were in the water, rigging the heavy towing equipment to the log. 

“It was a challenge,” Stubblefield said. “It’s very, very heavy rigging, and it took a lot for people to haul that across the river.” 

Two or three hours later, the truck revved its engine as it attempted to haul the log, which turned out to be almost 3 feet in diameter, from the river. The truck’s front tires came off the ground as it struggled to remove it, Stubblefield said.

Though they had originally quoted Performance Tours about $1,000 for the job, Mountain Recovery ended up doing the work for free, according to Swanson.

“Our mission statement is two words: ‘Help people,'” Stubblefield said. “Sometimes that’s for money because you’ve got to keep the wheels turning and lights on. Other times that’s for free because what comes around goes around.”

As a former firefighter paramedic, Stubblefield said he felt safety took precedence because the strainer could kill someone, but he also wanted to help out other local businesses that rely on tourism associated with rafting the Blue River.

On Wednesday evening, the Sheriff’s Office announced that the river closure had been lifted.

First thing Thursday morning, Cuillo was back out rafting the river. The conditions were great, and the entire Summit County community is excited that the Blue River will be raftable in the upcoming weeks, he said.

“We saved the Blue River rapid season,” Ciullo said.