Some of Dan Bender's photos taken during the past four decades.
The Eureka & Palisade wood-burning locomotive passes through Hermosa during “Train Fest” a few years ago. Photo by Dan Bender
A large boulder is pulverized using explosives to help remove it from Bondad Hill, south of Durango on U.S. Highway 550. Photo by Dan Bender
Animas Fire Department fights the Motel 8 Fire in the 1990s with a sign that reads “Welcome, smile and pass it on.” Photo by Dan Bender
An P3 Orion air tanker makes drop on the County Road 214 Fire in the mid-2000s. Photo by Dan Bender
The U.S. Army, La Plata County Search and Rescue and Colorado Mounted Rangers disembark searchers and supplies for a multi-day search and rescue mission in 1984 near the base of fourteeners. Photo by Dan Bender
Bald eagles along the Animas River near La Plata County Road and Bridge facilities. Photo by Dan Bender
Colorado Department of Transportation avalanche mitigation crews triggered this 2013 snowslide along U.S. Highway 550 near Silverton. Photo by Dan Bender
The June 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire erupts with a fireball northeast of the junction with county roads 501 and 240 (Florida Road). Photo by Dan Bender
Colorado Mounted Rangers and Undersheriff Sam Spencer (rear) search for missing hikers in Chicago Basin during the Summer of 1984. They also set up a field kitchen to feed dozens of searchers. Photo by Dan Bender
The La Plata County Sheriff Office worked with the U.S. Secret Service during Vice President Dan Quayle’s campaign stop in 1992 at the Durango-La Plata County Airport. Photo by Dan Bender
The Missionary Ridge Fire in June 2002 burned even at midnight near Tween Lakes Estates. Photo by Dan Bender
A National Guard Huey helicopter, with La Plata County Sheriff’s Office SWAT members, prepares to lift off from a remote landing zone in southeast Utah during the 1998 manhunt for three men who killed a police officer. Photo by Dan Bender
A La Plata County sunset in May 2009. The photo was taken from Florida Mesa with a view of the La Plata Mountains. Photo by Dan Bender
A dry lakebed during drought years at Lemon Reservoir. Photo by Dan Bender
Lightning strikes in the La Posta area west of Florida Mesa. Photo by Dan Bender
A snowstorm stranded horses and other livestock north of Vallecito Reservoir, resulting in a major rescue effort by La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Mounted Patrol, Division of Wildlife, Animal Control and others. Photo by Dan Bender
A sunrise south of Purgatory creates a colorful display. Photo by Dan Bender
