After almost three weeks of closure, Coloradans will be able to access two of the state’s most popular national forests once again. Parts of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, shut down last month because of wildfire threats, will reopen to the public as of 6 a.m. Tuesday. The forests overlap Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, […]
Larimer County
Posted inNews, Wildfire
Much of Rocky Mountain National Park reopens after East Troublesome fire
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK — Many areas of Rocky Mountain National Park reopened Friday after being closed for two weeks after a massive wildfire spread into the park. The west side of the park, where the East Troublesome Fire burned after making a big run in extremely dry conditions on Oct. 21, will remain closed […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Wildfire
The Cameron Peak fire has burned more than 200 homes
FORT COLLINS — A wildfire that has scorched more than 326 square miles since it started in mid-August, becoming the largest in Colorado history, has damaged or destroyed more than 200 homes, officials said. As of Wednesday, the Cameron Peak fire in northern Colorado had destroyed 442 buildings and damaged another eight, the Larimer County […]
Posted inPolitics and Government
Colorado vote tracker: Here’s a look at turnout in the 2020 election
Updated at 9 a.m. Nov. 5, 2020 Colorado voters are casting ballots in droves ahead of the 2020 election, pushing vote totals toward new levels. As of 9 a.m. Nov. 5, 3,295,192 people had cast ballots, or 78.7% of total registered voters, a Colorado Sun analysis shows. This is the second presidential election in Colorado […]
Posted inElection 2020, Environment, News, Politics and Government
One Colorado couple fled the East Troublesome fire with ballots. For others, voting options are abundant.
With the East Troublesome fire approaching his home, Jim Johnson hurried to the family desk to grab the computer and other electronics. Sitting next to the computer: his mail ballot and the one belonging to his wife. He grabbed them, put them in his briefcase and the couple hit the road about 20 minutes after […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Wildfire
2020’s wildfire season is historic, charring more acres than any year before. But Colorado has a complicated past with its forests.
In the 35 years that Mike Lester has worked as a forester, nothing compares to the East Troublesome fire’s behavior last week. Its 105,000-acre jump from Wednesday night into Thursday alone would classify as the fifth-largest wildfire in recorded state history; the fire as a whole is now the second-largest. “I’ve never heard of something […]
Posted inNews, Wildfire
All missing people accounted for as snow gives crews battling East Troublesome fire a reprieve
A winter storm battering Colorado on Sunday and into Monday is giving firefighters battling the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires a much-needed reprieve. “We don’t anticipate any fire growth today or tomorrow with this storm. It may be quite a few days before we see any fire activity whatsoever,” said Paul Delmerico, operations section […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Wildfire
East Troublesome fire held in Rocky Mountain National Park; two deaths confirmed
Firefighters attempting to protect the town of Estes Park from the fast-moving East Troublesome fire on Saturday kept the flames within the road system in Rocky Mountain National Park. Heavy snow is in the forecast for Saturday night, but federal incident commander Noel Livingston said there was significant growth in what is now known as […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, COVID, Education, Environment, News
First coronavirus, then an inferno: How schools in the East Troublesome fire’s path are scrambling to keep their students learning
Most of East Grand School District’s 1,300 students have been back in school full time since the end of August, but now, with Colorado’s second-largest wildfire threatening Granby, their classes are in limbo as many teachers and students evacuate. Superintendent Frank Reeves, who was fleeing to Greeley with his wife on Thursday afternoon, anticipates that […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Health
Pairing mental health counselors with police on calls shows promise in Colorado
Greeley Police Department Commander Rafael Gutierrez does not long for a simpler past, when dispatchers would get a call for someone threatening suicide and his only realistic option was handcuffs and a short stay on high watch in jail. Such an episode would typically be followed by a quick release back to the community, and […]