The Denver Gazette reports that two rescues took place at an abandoned missile silo in Arapahoe County in less than a week. In the first incident, two juveniles and an 18-year-old woman allegedly climbed into the underground structure using a rope ladder, and the 18-year-old could not get back out. Days later, a 19-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman allegedly entered the same kind of trouble, with the woman ultimately rescued from about 60 feet down the shaft.
Now the Sable Altura Fire District reportedly plans to charge a $5,000 recovery fee for future rescues at the silo. That is not a fine. It is meant to help cover the equipment and training required to drag people out of a dangerous underground Cold War relic after common sense failed to report for duty.
This is not “adventure culture.” This is taxpayer-funded stupidity with a rope team.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Two rescues in less than a week is not bad luck. It is a pattern. When people allegedly climb into an abandoned missile silo and then discover that climbing back out is harder, emergency responders get volunteered into their experiment.
- The rescues put firefighters in danger too. A missile silo is not a playground with mood lighting. It is a hazardous underground structure where rescuers have to use specialized equipment and training because somebody decided trespassing needed more cardio.
- The people involved may also face criminal trespassing charges. According to the article, those potential charges could carry a mandatory court appearance, up to 10 days in jail, a fine of up to $300, or both. Apparently “don’t climb into the abandoned missile silo” needed a legal appendix.
- Future rescues will reportedly come with a $5,000 recovery fee. Good. Congratulations, your dumb field trip now has a cover charge. The fee is intended to help recover the cost of the equipment and training required for these complicated rescues.
- Emergency crews will still do their job. Nobody is suggesting firefighters leave people at the bottom of a shaft to contemplate their life choices. The point is that rescuing trespassers should not automatically mean taxpayers eat the entire bill while the rescued party posts about the adventure later.
My Bottom Line
Colorado has enough real emergencies.
We have fires, wrecks, medical calls and legitimate mountain rescues. Firefighters should not have to keep risking their necks because thrill-seeking dumbasses treat abandoned Cold War infrastructure like a TikTok jungle gym.
Personal responsibility means the public will still save you when your bad decision becomes life-threatening, but it does not mean everyone else should quietly pay for your stupidity. You climb into a dangerous silo, get stuck and summon trained professionals into the hole after you, then a recovery fee is not oppression. It is tuition.
The $5,000 charge is common sense with an invoice stapled to it. This is not Narnia. It is an abandoned missile silo. If warning signs, fencing, trespassing laws, previous rescue coverage and the basic shape of the hole all fail to reach your brain, five grand may be the cheapest education you ever receive.
Colorado does not need to turn Cold War leftovers into an idiot vending machine.
Source: The Denver Gazette
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