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After the Marshall Fire damaged Superior's snowplows, Boulder helped clear roads for first responders

Boulder's plows helped keep the roads in Superior open after snow fell on the area in the days following the Marshall Fire.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — In the days after the Marshall Fire, the Town of Superior made an unusual call for assistance. After the flames destroyed much of the town, Superior was left with a shortage of snowplows able to clear the streets for emergency responders. 

Their neighbors in Boulder answered the call for help.

"No hesitation. We were ready to go, ready to help right away," said Scott Schlecht, Transportation Maintenance Manager for the City of Boulder. "They sent out a request to the Boulder County emergency operations center and we answered the call."

Boulder's plows usually only work inside city limits. After the Marshall Fire, their neighbors in Superior needed their help.

Without the ability to clear the roads, first responders wouldn’t have been able to make it to the places they needed to be. So Boulder sent their plows to help clear the snow.

"We had them there for, I think it was about two days total," Schlecht said. "It was to provide emergency access into the places that had been burned and keep traffic moving in places that weren’t burned and allow access back in for people who had lost their houses."

Boulder also sent some of their utilities department employees to Superior to help them get everything back online in the weeks after the fire. 

The snowplow drivers plan to be out well into Wednesday for this round of snow in Boulder, though Superior no longer needs their help to plow their streets.

"We answered a call," Schlecht said. "I’d like to think that all the neighboring communities would do the same if we had a call for help as well."

RELATED: Water supplies in Louisville, Superior almost ran dry as firefighters battled Marshall Fire flames

RELATED: Avista Adventist Hospital reopens following Marshall Fire evacuation

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