“Extreme fire behavior” expected today

Good morning, Colorado. Here’s hoping the smoke isn’t too heavy in your neck of the woods, and here’s to the thousands of firefighters out on the front lines.

The first wildfire I ever covered was the 2000 Bobcat Gulch fire in the Big Thompson Canyon when I was working at the Reporter-Herald in Loveland. That’s when I witnessed the orchestration it takes to move hundreds of souls around deadly flames.

The firefighters’ colorful tents dotting the middle school football field. Retrofitted Vietnam War-era helicopters slurping up then dropping hundreds of gallons of water. Seeing from the air how bombers strategically drop lines of slurry around a home. Walking through the devastation of some of the 22 homes that were incinerated.

It wasn’t anything I’d ever known growing up in Michigan and Oklahoma. I’ve covered dozens of wildfires since then, but those weeks 25 years ago still stick with me as we cover this fire season.

So as the warm, dry weather continues this week in western Colorado and more fires are bound to flare up, instead of cursing the smoke, switch gears and send a positive thought toward all the women and men working the fire lines — that they get back to food, shelter and safety for another day.

And with that, let’s get caught up on the Lee fire and plenty of other news impacting Colorado.

David Krause

Editor

THE NEWS

WILDFIRE

Firefighters brace for “extreme fire behavior” as weather intensifies around Lee fire in northwestern Colorado

Responders battling the Lee fire between Meeker and Rifle are expecting more extreme fire behavior today, as the fifth-largest blaze in Colorado history continues to grow amid continuing high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds. A spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Incident Command said dryness of fuels and probability of ignition remain major factors, according to Lincoln Roch, who has more from the scene of this developing story.

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• Lee fire continues push southward as hot, dry weather remains in forecast. The Lee fire has burned more than 120,000 acres and the region has received just 5% of normal precipitation in the past 30 days.

NEWS

What do nearly 200 people say about a plan to buy powerful Colorado River rights? Go for it.

Western Slope communities and water agencies want to be able to use Colorado River water rights tied to the Shoshone Power Plant to keep water in rivers on their side of the Continental Divide, but some Front Range water providers and managers say the plan could hurt their supplies, writes Shannon Mullane, who got the scoop on this issue of interest to communities across the state.

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WEATHER

Scientists chase storms across the Mountain West to study hail’s growing threat

Hail storms don’t pose the same safety threat as storm surges, flash flooding or tornadoes, but they happen every year in Colorado and the impacts to cars, crops and roofs are costing us tens of billions of dollars and driving rising insurance premiums more than wildfires. Learn more from KUNC’s Rachel Cohen in this story about CU and CSU researchers trying to understand the force and features of hail.

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Colorado’s U.S. House members spar over “big, beautiful bill” at business luncheon in Denver

Colorado’s four Democrats and four Republicans in the U.S. House showed their split on measures in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act during the Colorado Chamber of Commerce’s congressional luncheon in Denver Tuesday, with Dems criticizing policies around work requirements for Medicaid and an increased focus on fossil fuel production and Republicans defending both. KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods and Kyle McKinnon have more.

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Section by Tracy Ross | Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

• Rabbits with wart-like tentacles, horns seen in northern Colorado. Rabbits north of Fort Collins have been spotted with unusual wart- and tentacle-like growths on them, signs that they are infected with the papillomavirus. Fun (?) fact: It was researching the cause of these growths on rabbits — which have led to myths about “horned rabbits” for centuries — that led to the discovery that some viruses can cause cancer, which in turn led to the development of the HPV vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer in humans.
  — FOX31 Denver, Wikipedia
• Aurora lawmakers dissolve city race-relations commission, sparking debate. “Dissolving it could send the wrong message that Aurora is moving away from its commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity. I know that isn’t true for many of you,” said Aaron Furtrell, one of the members of the Human Relations Commission that was eliminated by the council.
• Thursday had one of the highest “low” temperatures in a century. The low was 74 degrees, Denver hasn’t experienced a low that hot since the 1880s.
  — Denverite
• Fewer people are moving to Colorado in 2025 — but some Western Slope counties are bucking the trend. Garfield and Mesa counties are going against the trend of slowing net migration, with expected population growth through 2035.
  — Post-Independent
• ICE tells Colorado lawmakers it plans to open new detention facility near metro Denver. The former private prison in Hudson that will host the new facility was one of six sites submitted in proposals to ICE earlier this year.
  — The Denver Post 🔑

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Trump is sending in the troops to quell crime in D.C. If only it were about crime. Why would Trump really be militarizing the Metro police in Washington, where violent crime has hit a 30-year low?
  — Mike Littwin
  

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

SunLit

REVIEW

The Bookies Bookstore suggests artistic and all-ages titles

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends:

• “My Friends” by Fredrik Backman, a quest to unravel the mystery of three figures in a famous painting
• “When the Tides Held the Moon” by Venessa Vida Kelley, Coney Island folks engage with a mer-man from New York’s East River
• “Smile” by Raina Telgemeier, a graphic novel with teeth, for all ages

Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Keep those wildland firefighters in your thoughts and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

— David & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.