Funeral Pyres Burn In Colorado

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Reported and produced by Shanna Lewis

It’s a morbid question. Have you given any thought to what will happen to your body when you die? Cremation. Burial? in the small town of Crestone in southern Colorado folks have a choice most people in the U.S. do not. Crestone is home to one of the few outdoor funeral pyres in the U.S. It’s the only one that’s open to people of any faith. The pyre was built by the Crestone End of Life Project or CEOLP. The volunteer group has performed 16 open-air cremations in the last four years. Interest in their work is growing but they can only serve the town's population. Stephanie Gaines is the founder of CEOLP. She takes us through the steps of how this works from the moment someone dies. Interview originally aired August 26, 2010.