Boulder, Colorado

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    Boulder is a small city in Colorado that sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. After the zombie outbreak Boulder was the largest surviving human population center, with approximately 150,000 residents.

    Link to Wikipedia Article: [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulder,_co"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulder,_co[/URL]
    Google Map with Boulder Sites: [URL]http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=200372006308941683650.0004cb2bc380033aab571[/URL]

    [SIZE=4][B]Appearances:[/B][/SIZE]
    [List]
    [*]Chapter 29-2 - Michael is informed of the existence of Boulder.
    [*]Chapter 29-3 - Pegs, Kelly, Datu and Hope fly out of Fort Irwin to settle in Boulder.
    [*]Chapter 33-2 - A Blackhawk helicopter from Boulder locates the crash site of a Chinook helicopter that was enroute from Los Angeles to Boulder.
    [*]Chapter 33-3 - Michael realizes the threat to Boulder from the missing Little One/Inkling and seeks to warn them of the danger.
    [*]Chapter 34-1 - Boulder is over-run by Little Ones/Inklings. Datu and Hope are trapped in a strange house in South Boulder.[/List]
    [IMG]http://www.zombiepodcast.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2178&d=1349129790[/IMG]

    [SIZE=4][B]The Defense of Boulder[/B][/SIZE]

    The terrain around Boulder makes defense against a zombie threat challenging, but manageable.

    • [B]West[/B]—The dominant terrain feature in the Boulder area is the Rocky Mountains mountain range, which rises like a wall along the entire western flank of the city. There are a handful of roads and trails through the Rockies, with the most important being Canyon Road, that runs from the city’s hydroelectric power plants straight into downtown Boulder.
    [IMG]http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/boulder_1.jpg[/IMG]

    • [B]South[/B]—This is the direction where the greatest threat would seem to lie. Denver is less than 30 miles to the south, and it is a source of potentially endless zombie hordes. Luckily there are only a handful of roads between Denver and Boulder, passing through a region of rolling hills. Assuming the zombies tend to follow the roads, it would be possible to build a strong defense by blocking the roads where it passes between hills, and covering these blockages with fire from military positions.

    • [B]East[/B]—This direction features a number of lakes and reservoirs, which channelize movement into the narrow areas between them. Once again it would be possible to build a strong defense by blocking these routes and covering them with fire from military positions.

    • [B]North[/B]—There are larger hills and more lakes and reservoirs in this direction, which provide a basis for defense. The Boulder Airport sits outside the main metropolitan area northeast of the city. The greatest threat from this direction comes from the zombie populations of small cities like Longmont, Greeley and Fort Collins, which are more than 50 miles away.
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    Because of the terrain the largest concentrations of military forces are probably going to be to the south and east of Boulder, with lesser forces to the north and very little covering the west.
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    • [B]Defense Strategy[/B]—Because of the terrain the largest concentrations of military forces are probably going to be to the south and east of Boulder, with lesser forces to the north and very little covering the west. I believe that defenses would consist of an outer ring, an inner ring and point defenses. The general philosophy would be

    1) Keep a low profile to avoid attracting zombie attention,

    2) Engage zombies at long range, killing them before they can get close enough to infect human defenders,

    3) In the event of an attack keep the civilian population indoors, in fortified positions, with weapons. It is critical to avoid crowds of panicked civilians in the open, since these can get in the way of the military response, and they are potential reinforcements for the zombies.

    4) Maintain large, mobile reserve forces to deal with breakthroughs.

    [I]Outer Ring[/I]—barriers and roadblocks at choke points along the main roads, covered by dug-in outposts with heavy machineguns, and supported by artillery, armed helicopters and armored vehicles.

    [I]Inner Ring[/I]—Corporal Puck mentions the zombies being "inside the wall". I suspect this refers to a real wall, most likely a Hesco-type pre-fabricated wall. These use manufactured shells that form the outline of the wall, which are then filled with dirt, rocks or other fill to rapidly turn Boulder into a walled city.
    [IMG]http://www.zombiepodcast.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2191&d=1349298581[/IMG]

    [I]Point Defenses[/I]—Every occupied building should have its doors boarded up and its ground level fortified, while larger, public buildings should be turned into bunkers. This should be complemented by roadblocks and checkpoints designed to slow the movement of people or zombies on foot, and to channel infiltrators away from populated areas and into open areas such as parks, which could be pre-configured to serve as kill-zones.
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    [SIZE=4][B]Chapter 34-1: The Inkling Attack on Boulder[/B][/SIZE]

    I've been taking a close look at Boulder, trying to figure out how an attack would have unfolded. Here's how I think it happened:

    1. Zombie Griggs comes over the Rockies from the Chinook crash site and approaches Boulder from the west.

    2. It comes across the hydro-electric plants that support the city, attacking and turning the maintenance crews and guards and knocking out the power.
    [IMG]http://www.zombiepodcast.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2179&d=1349131268[/IMG]

    3. With its new posse, Zombie Griggs travels down Canyon Road into downtown Denver, just blocks from the City Council Building. The people at the command post learn of the attack when the zombies charge into their building.

    4. At this point Boulder is effectively split in two, with zombies spreading out in all directions from the city center. Troops from the southern defenses attack into the city, retaking the City Council Building, and drawing the attention of the zombies in their direction.

    Per KC, Datu and Hope are in the south area of Boulder. Pegs and Kelly are described as being in the north area of the city
    [category]places[/category]


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