Firestone, Colorado
Firestone is a town in Weld County, Colorado, United States, situated approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Denver. Once a quiet Front Range community rooted in coal mining, Firestone has grown into a rapidly expanding suburban town whose history reflects broader patterns of resource extraction, energy development, and residential growth that have shaped northern Colorado. The town is perhaps best known in recent decades for its connections to the oil and gas industry, including a significant pipeline incident in 2017 that drew national attention and prompted renewed scrutiny of energy infrastructure mapping across the state.
History
The origins of Firestone are tied directly to the coal mining economy that dominated much of northern Colorado in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Evans coal mine, one of the earliest industrial operations in the area, was a defining feature of the early settlement that would become Firestone. Historical records and photographs document the presence of the Evans mine in the Firestone area, including images of local homes situated with the mine visible in the background — a reminder of how closely residential life and industrial activity were intertwined in the town's founding era.[1]
The town takes its name from a prominent figure in the early development of the community, and its incorporation marked a formalization of what had been a working-class settlement built around the needs of miners and their families. The official history of the town, maintained by the municipal government, documents this transition from a mining camp-era community into an incorporated Colorado municipality.[2]
As coal mining declined across the region through the mid-twentieth century, Firestone's economic and demographic character began to shift. The town transitioned gradually from an industry-dependent settlement into a bedroom community, attracting residents drawn by its proximity to Denver and the broader Boulder and Greeley metropolitan corridors. Infrastructure improvements and highway access accelerated this transformation, and by the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Firestone had become one of the faster-growing municipalities in Weld County.
Geography
Firestone is located on the northern Front Range of Colorado, in the broad agricultural plain that stretches east from the Rocky Mountains. The town lies within Weld County, among the most energy-productive counties in the United States, where oil and gas extraction, agriculture, and suburban growth frequently intersect. The area surrounding Firestone includes a mixture of residential developments, open farmland, and active energy infrastructure — a landscape that reflects the complex and sometimes contested relationship between community expansion and resource development.
The town's address at 9950 Park Avenue, Firestone, CO 80504, serves as the seat of local government, and Town Hall operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.[3] The surrounding region is characterized by relatively flat terrain typical of the Great Plains as it meets the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills, making it suitable for both agricultural use and the kind of low-density residential development that has defined Firestone's growth in recent decades.
Oil and Gas Industry
The 2017 Pipeline Incident
Firestone gained significant national attention in 2017 following an explosion linked to a natural gas leak from an underground pipeline. The pipeline involved in the incident was owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corp, and the leak — which went undetected — resulted in the accumulation of gas beneath a residential structure, leading to a deadly explosion. The incident drew intense scrutiny from state regulators, energy companies, and the public regarding the safety of oil and gas infrastructure in close proximity to homes and communities across Colorado.
The aftermath of the Firestone explosion exposed a troubling reality about energy infrastructure: pipelines across Colorado and much of the broader United States had not been fully mapped, making it difficult for regulators, emergency responders, and even property owners to know the precise location of lines running beneath the surface. An investigation by the Associated Press found that years after the Firestone incident, the problem of incomplete pipeline mapping remained unresolved at both the state and national level.[4]
The 2017 explosion accelerated policy conversations in Colorado about the regulation of oil and gas development near residential areas, contributing to a broader legislative and regulatory reckoning that would reshape the state's approach to energy oversight in the years that followed. The incident remains a reference point in ongoing discussions about the balance between Colorado's energy economy and the safety of communities living in close proximity to active oil and gas operations.
Occidental's Longs Peak Development
In the years following the 2017 incident, Firestone continued to be a focal point for debates about oil and gas development near residential areas. Occidental Petroleum's proposed Longs Peak development, located in Firestone, emerged as a closely watched case in Colorado's evolving regulatory environment. The project, situated approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Denver, was among the first major oil and gas proposals to navigate permitting under Colorado's revised regulatory framework — one that gave local governments and state agencies greater authority to weigh the impacts of drilling on nearby homes and communities.[5]
The proposed site for the Longs Peak development was notably located near the area where the 2017 Anadarko pipeline leak had occurred, adding a layer of historical significance to the regulatory proceedings.[6] In March 2022, Colorado's oil and gas regulator rejected Occidental's plan to drill near homes in Firestone, a decision that was widely cited as a signal of the changed regulatory climate in the state. The rejection represented a significant moment in Colorado's efforts to reconcile its status as a major energy-producing state with growing public demand for stronger protections for residential communities.
The Longs Peak case illustrated how Firestone had become, perhaps inadvertently, a kind of proving ground for the new direction of Colorado energy policy — a place where the legacy of the 2017 explosion continued to influence regulatory decisions and shape the terms on which energy development could proceed in populated areas.
Government
Firestone is governed as a statutory town under Colorado state law, with a Town Hall located at 9950 Park Avenue in the town center. The municipal government provides services to residents and handles the administrative functions typical of a Colorado municipality of its size, including planning and zoning, public works, and community development.[7]
Town Hall is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and can be reached by telephone at 303-833-3291. The town's growth in recent decades has placed increasing demands on local government to manage infrastructure, planning, and services for a population that has expanded substantially from its coal-era origins.
As with many rapidly growing communities on Colorado's northern Front Range, Firestone's local government has had to balance the economic benefits of proximity to the energy sector with the responsibilities of protecting residents' health, safety, and quality of life. The town's experience with the 2017 pipeline explosion and its aftermath has informed local perspectives on land use planning and the siting of energy infrastructure near residential neighborhoods.
Education
Firestone is served by public schools that are part of the St. Vrain Valley School District, one of the larger school districts in Colorado. The district provides educational services to students across the northern Front Range, and Firestone's growth has contributed to increased enrollment demands within the district. Local schools serve the residential population that has expanded significantly as the town has developed from a small mining community into a suburban municipality.
Community and Demographics
Firestone has grown from a small, working-class coal-mining settlement into a suburban community that reflects the demographic characteristics of many northern Front Range Colorado towns. The population draws from a range of backgrounds, and the town's proximity to both Denver and the employment centers of Longmont, Boulder, and Greeley has made it an attractive location for families and individuals seeking more affordable housing options within commuting distance of larger urban areas.
The community is connected to a network of family and social ties typical of Colorado's smaller Front Range municipalities. Obituaries and community records from the broader region frequently reference Firestone as the home of local residents, underscoring the town's role as a genuine residential community rather than simply a transit point between larger cities.
Legacy and Significance
Firestone occupies an instructive place in the contemporary history of Colorado. Its trajectory from coal-mining settlement to suburban town to the site of a nationally significant pipeline safety incident encapsulates broader tensions and transformations that have defined the state's relationship with natural resource extraction. The town's name became associated in the public consciousness with questions about the safety of oil and gas infrastructure in residential areas — questions that have continued to shape Colorado law and regulation in the years since the 2017 explosion.
At the same time, Firestone remains a functioning community with active local government, growing schools, and residents whose daily lives extend well beyond the energy policy debates that have made the town's name recognizable to audiences far beyond Weld County. The town's history — from the Evans coal mine to the Anadarko pipeline leak to the rejection of Occidental's Longs Peak proposal — reflects the degree to which communities throughout Colorado's energy corridor have had to navigate the opportunities and risks that come with living atop among the most productive hydrocarbon basins in the United States.
As Colorado continues to refine its approach to oil and gas regulation, and as the northern Front Range continues to urbanize, Firestone's experience offers a case study in how energy development, residential growth, and regulatory policy intersect in a state where all three forces remain powerful and, at times, in direct conflict.