Primero was the first CF&I mining camp to be seriously stricken the Spanish flu epidemic that ravaged the world.  In the first week of the disease arriving in Primero, 104 people contracted the disease.  The medical dispensary, designed to only provide temporary medical care to a small number of people, was completely overwhelmed.  Out of necessity, strict quarantines were put into effect and the Y.M.C.A. was closed down and converted into a hospital.  Nearly the entire community came out to aid in the recovery effort, bringing the epidemic under control and halting the total number of flu cases in Primero to 256.

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