The owner of a Glenwood-area apartment building hit by a boulder in early October said he is looking into possible protective measures such as installing a rockfall fence.

"It's been 40 years since a rock came down and hit that property, so I'm also weighing that. It's a hazard of living in the mountains," he said.

A boulder struck a corner unit of Bowling's six-unit building on Midland Avenue on Oct. 4, punching holes in two walls as it passed through and hit the ground. The couple renting the apartment, Angelique and Richard Fiorillo, weren't in it at the time, and no one was hurt.

"Obviously I'm concerned about the welfare of the tenants. But by the same token putting up a sub fence is not an inexpensive proposition. I'm not a wealthy Aspenite that can just say go do it. I have to do research and find out some things," said Bowling, who lives near Glenwood Springs.

By a sub fence, Bowling is referring to heavy-duty fencing originally designed for underwater use to ward off enemy submarines, but now also used to break the fall of rocks on hillsides.

Bowling said he doubts that even such a fence would have made a difference in the October incident, in which the rock bounced and launched itself into the air and through the second-story living room.

Bowling said a rock previously struck a home that was on the property but later was relocated. He bought the property about five years ago. He said he wasn't worried about the danger of rockfall.

Bowling said his insurance company didn't pay for the repairs because the incident was an act of nature. The repair quote was high enough that he ended up taking time off from work and doing it himself.

"It was something I had to deal with and then move on," he said. "If Mother Nature singles you out and says, 'Aha, I'm going to get him today,' where can you hide?"

Bowling said the property is outside Glenwood Springs city limits, and instead part of unincorporated Garfield County. But he said he doesn't think the county is obligated to protect his property from rockfall.

This is cache, read story here