Editing Louisville, Colorado (section)

==History==
The town of Louisville dates back to the start of the Welch Mine in 1877, the first coal mine in an area of [[Boulder County, Colorado|Boulder]] and [[Weld County, Colorado|Weld]] counties known as the Northern Coalfield. The town was named for Louis Nawatny, a local landowner who platted his land and named it for himself. Incorporation came several years later in 1882.<ref name="Conarroe">Conarroe, Carol, ''The Louisville Story.'' Louisville, CO: Conarroe, 1978.</ref>

The Northern Coalfield proved to be highly productive, and eventually, some 30 different mines operated within the current boundaries of Louisville, though not all at the same time. During the years of peak production (1907–09), 12 mines were in operation in Louisville, including the Acme Mine whose two million tons of coal came from directly beneath the center of town. The presence of many independent mining companies in Louisville saved the town from becoming a "[[company town]]", wholly owned and dominated by a single mining company.<ref name="Conarroe"/>

Coal from the Northern Coalfield was [[sub-bituminous]] (low grade) and could not be transported long distances because of problems with self-combustion. Mining generally took place in the winter months since that was the period that demanded fuel for heating. During the summers, the miners played in local [[baseball]] leagues, with the home field named "Miners Field".

A great deal of mythology has arisen around the stories of [[tunnel]]s that connected [[western saloon|saloons]] throughout the city, but these have proven to be unfounded and undocumented. Instead, during labor conflicts, many citizens found refuge in dirt basements to avoid errant bullets being fired from mine compounds into the city. From 1910 to 1914, the Northern Colorado Coalfields were in the midst of a strike by the [[United Mine Workers]] and the [[Rocky Mountain Fuel Company]] based on working conditions, pay, and working hours. When miners walked out on the Hecla Mine northeast of Louisville, the company hired the [[Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency]] to guard the mine compound. A machine gun and spotlight were placed in a tower on the Hecla property, and when miners took out their frustration by shooting their guns at the compound, the detectives responded by returning their fire by randomly firing at the town. The northernmost engagement of the [[Colorado Coalfield War]] occurred in Louisville between a small contingent of [[Colorado National Guard]] and Baldwin-Felts, led by Captain [[Hildreth Frost]] against strikers following the [[Ludlow Massacre]] in April 1914.<ref name="Conarroe"/>

Eventually, the coal remaining in the Northern Coalfield became increasingly uneconomical to mine, and the last coal mines operating in Louisville closed in the 1950s.

In 2001, the city changed from a statutory city and became a home rule city. The home rule debate came about when [[Public Service Company of Colorado|Xcel Energy]] announced plans to replace old power line poles with much larger steel towers. While the city wanted the power lines to be buried, it discovered it lacked the authority to force Xcel to do this or even to create a taxing district to fund such.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=LVT20011226-01.2.7&srpos=1&e=-------en-20-LVT-1-byDA-txt-txIN-louisville+%22home+rule%22+bury+power+line+xcel-------0-|title=Louisville Times December 26, 2001 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection|website=Coloradohistoricnewspapers.org|access-date=September 7, 2018}}</ref>

===Marshall Fire===
{{Main|2021–2022 Boulder County fires}}
In late December 2021, [[2021–2022 Boulder County fires|the Marshall Fire]] raged through the parched lands near [[Boulder, Colorado]]. Marshall Fire is the most destructive in Colorado's history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article256963967.html|title=How big was the Marshall Fire? Comparing the Colorado blaze to past destructive events|website=Sacbee.com|access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref> The fire impacted City of Louisville, City of [[Superior, Colorado|Superior]] and unincorporated Boulder County areas. Within Louisville, 553 homes were destroyed with an additional 45 damaged. Over 21,000 people in Louisville and 13,000 in Superior were ultimately evacuated while the fire was spreading due to unusual 100-mile-per-hour winds. Additionally, two people died in the fire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cpr.org/2022/01/19/identity-final-person-missing-marshall-fire-bone-fragments/|title=Identity of final person missing from Marshall fire confirmed as investigators uncover bone fragments
|website=www.cpr.org|date=January 22, 2022|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref> The cause of the fire has not been officially announced, pending an investigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/colorado-wildfires-burn-hundreds-homes-evacuations/|title=Colorado Wildfires Burn Hundreds of Homes, Force Evacuations|website=Dfw.cbslocal.com|date=December 30, 2021}}</ref>  However, an incident report filed by a ranger with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks identified two ignition points for the fire. The first ignition point was a shed that began to burn at approximately 11:30AM MST, December 30, 2021. The second ignition point was upwind from the first, and started around noon of the same day on "western side of the Marshall Mesa trailhead."<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 7, 2021|title=Videos show Marshall Fire started by 2 separate ignition points less than a mile apart|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/marshall-fire/marshall-fire-2-ignition-points/73-d3755c1c-120a-49cb-8ee0-ad0f1f1fc41a|access-date=May 25, 2022|website=9news.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/marshall-fire-boulder-county-update/73-bb81bdba-d335-46f1-8105-b01151e2ac38|title = $12 million donated to Boulder County Wildfire Fund|newspaper = Kusa.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 30, 2021|title=2 missing, 991 homes destroyed in Marshall Fire|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/multiple-grass-fires-boulder-county/73-d98c59a1-480e-47cc-b2b3-8a82baca0a58|access-date=January 3, 2022|website=KUSA.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/colorado-wildfires-burn-hundreds-homes-evacuations/|title=Colorado Wildfires Burn Hundreds Of Homes, Force Evacuations|website=Dfw.cbslocal.com|date=December 30, 2021|access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/marshall-fire-boulder-county-update/73-bb81bdba-d335-46f1-8105-b01151e2ac38|title=$12 million donated to Boulder County Wildfire Fund|date=January 3, 2022|website=9news.com|access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref>