Conifer residents say changes to 285 can’t come soon enough
CONIFER - The State Patrol is investigating a crash in Conifer that killed a 15-year-old boy and injured a 17-year-old this week. Residents say there’s a blind curve at the crash scene, off Highway 285 at Richmond Hill Road, but it’s more than just a problem with the road. (9news.com)

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06.28.03 @ 06:52 AM MST [link]

Jefferson County clarifies the use and possession of fireworks
With the fourth of July rapidly approaching, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office would like to clarify Colorado law as it applies to the use and possession of fireworks in the unincorporated areas of Jefferson County.

In general, Colorado law defines non-permissible fireworks as any device that explodes and/or leaves the ground. Illegal fireworks include but are not limited to firecrackers, bottle rockets, M-80s and pyro-pops. It is illegal to sell, use or possess non-permissible fireworks in unincorporated Jefferson County. Additionally, all fireworks are prohibited in Jefferson County Open Space Parks, Denver Mountain Parks and Forest Service lands.

Colorado law defines permissible fireworks as any device that does not explode or leave the ground. Examples of permissible fireworks are sparklers, smoke devices, snakes and glow worms. Keep in mind, while permissible fireworks may seem harmless, they continue to account for many fireworks-related injuries each year.

For a safe and enjoyable Independence Day celebration, the sheriff’s office encourages citizens to attend a licensed public fireworks display. The cities of Arvada, Golden, and Westminster, as well as Indian Hills and Bandimere Speedway are some of the locations where professional, spectacular fireworks can be enjoyed.

Jefferson County deputies will strictly enforce fireworks violations in the unincorporated areas of the county this coming holiday. Any person in violation of the law will be cited and will face a fine of $300.

06.27.03 @ 08:49 AM MST [link]

Conifer teen dies in 285 accident; Indian Hills teen injured
One teenager is sent to the hospital and another one is dead after a deadly crash west of Conifer Thursday night.

The accident happened on Highway 285 at Richmond Hill Road. (TheDenverChannel.com)

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UPDATE: From CSP

We are now able to release the names of those involved in this accident. We are not sure which person was driving at this time. Nolan Shaber, age 17, from Indian Hills, was taken to Swedish. John Bigler, age 15, from Conifer was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck went down the
embankment 137 feet. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

06.27.03 @ 06:07 AM MST [link]

Environmental activists gear up for boot camp
DARBY, Mont. — About 70 environmental activists are spending the week in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest at a boot camp for the civilly disobedient.

Greenpeace says the camp aims to arm the next generation of activists with tools to do battle against the Bush administration's Healthy Forests Initiative — a plan they say will lead to unmitigated logging. (Boulder Daily Camera)

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06.27.03 @ 05:49 AM MST [link]

Texan pleads guilty in ski crash
GLENWOOD SPRINGS - A Texas snowboarder pleaded guilty Thursday to felony and misdemeanor charges for barreling into children taking a ski class at Sunlight Mountain Resort in March.

Reilly Malone, a 6-year-old from Kansas, suffered a broken right leg and facial injuries when Michael Wolff plowed into her and other youngsters March 15 at the ski area near Glenwood Springs. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.27.03 @ 05:44 AM MST [link]

Araphoe Basin to close July 6
The final day of the Colorado 2002 - 2003 ski season will be Sunday, July 6. A-Basin, the highest ski area in North America, continues its legacy to remain one of the last ski areas open in Colorado. The ski area has not been able to reach the coveted July closing since the 96/97 ski season due to lack of snowfall.

Spring/summer conditions exist with two lifts serving skiing and boarding on the upper mountain. Exhibition lift operates from 8:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. and the Lenawee Mountain lift operates from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Skier must download on Exhibition. Only intermediate skiing is available on the mountain.

To celebrate Independence Day, the ski area will be providing free entertainment in the base area with The Blue Monkey Friday, July 4 from noon - 3:00 p.m. Blue Monkey is a classic rock cover band playing songs from the likes of Santana, Bob Seger and Blues Travelers.

The adult lift ticket price is currently $28 (a free child ticket is offered with the purchase of a full price adult ticket); child (14 and under) tickets are available for $12.

The 2003-2004 Arapahoe Basin Bonus Pass is now available for $219 through the A-Basin ticket office (open 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. daily until closing day) or on line. The pass includes unlimited skiing at A-Basin plus, five non-transferable lift tickets valid at Keystone and Breckenridge for the 2003-2004 ski season. One of those lift tickets can be used at Vail or Beaver Creek.

Lift lines are short, parking is free and skier services will be available through close including ski, board and clothing rental, retail shop, cafeteria and midway barbeque. The bar will be open Friday - Sunday.

For more information on closing day, the 4th of July concert, snow conditions or to purchase one of the many A-Basin 2003-2004 season pass options call 1-888-ARAPAHOE (272-7246) or check Arapahoe Basin's web site at www.arapahoebasin.com.

06.26.03 @ 03:48 PM MST [link]

Female forest workers say discrimination continues
SAN FRANCISCO -- Thousands of women who work for the U.S. Forest Service in California are asking a federal judge to hold Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman in contempt of court. The current and former employees say she has failed to reduce workplace hostility.

The Forest Service, a division of the USDA, has been under a court-approved settlement since last year. Officials agreed to establish a three-year program to train employees and enforce women's rights in the workplace. (The Denver Channel.com)

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06.26.03 @ 03:42 PM MST [link]

Roosevelt Hotshots spring into action
FORT COLLINS - Larimer County's two specialized national firefighting crews have been dispatched to do battle with blazes ravaging the Southwest.

The Roosevelt Hotshots, a 20-person U.S. Forest Service crew based in north Fort Collins, shipped out Saturday in two "crew haul" trucks. They worked Wednesday at the estimated 3,000-acre Helen 2 fire in Saguaro National Park, about 23 miles east of Tucson, Ariz. (Ft. Collins Coloradoan)

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06.26.03 @ 09:19 AM MST [link]

Fire destroys 322 homes, but Arizona winds easing
SUMMERHAVEN, Ariz. - Crews battling the 25,000-acre Aspen Fire expect to catch a break in the weather starting today and make solid gains in corralling the blaze. (Arizona Star)

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06.25.03 @ 06:14 AM MST [link]

Distant fires send smoke over area
COLORADO SPRINGS - Smoke from wildfires raging in Arizona and New Mexico drifted far enough north and east Tuesday to spook many El Paso County residents.

Concerned calls began lighting up dispatch switchboards Tuesday morning as people began noticing a haze settling over the city, said Lt. Melissa Hartman of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. (Denver Post)

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06.25.03 @ 06:11 AM MST [link]

Lax fire counts singe funding
BOULDER - The state of Colorado may be passing up hundreds of thousands of dollars and firefighting resources because officials do not keep an accurate count of the fires fought.

Large chunks of federal funding and grants aimed at preventing and fighting wildfires are awarded, in part, based on need. The more fires a state has, the more money it gets to fight them. (Denver Post)

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06.25.03 @ 06:00 AM MST [link]

Forest Service orders spraying to kill pine beetles
HERMOSA – Straddling a cut ponderosa pine at the Lower Hermosa Campground, David Temple uses the blade of a Swiss Army knife to peel off strips of bark and reveal the army inside.

The small, translucent pupae are only a few centimeters long, but there are hundreds of them under the bark. (Durango Herald

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06.24.03 @ 05:55 AM MST [link]

Sinkhole a lesson in geology
VAIL - When a sinkhole emerged on Interstate 70 in Vail earlier this month, it closed the highway for an unprecedented four days. It was not, however, the first time geological problems have confounded drivers on the highway - and it's unlikely to be the last. (Vail Daily News)

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06.24.03 @ 05:53 AM MST [link]

Culvert replacement creates delays at Eisenhower Tunnel
SILVERTHORNE - Interstate 70 traffic is slow at the Eisenhower Tunnel this week while Colorado Department of Transportation crews replace a water culvert under the highway.

The pipe will be the second replaced this year since one failed under the highway in East Vail on June 1, closing I-70 for days and prompting CDOT to launch inspections of drainage along I-70. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.24.03 @ 05:48 AM MST [link]

Reservoirs top crucial amount
DENVER - The level of Denver's mountain reservoirs surged past the 80 percent mark Monday - the benchmark that determines when stiff surcharges on water use should be lifted.

The Denver Water Board, which serves 1.2 million metro-area residents, will debate Wednesday how quickly to remove the surcharges, which kicked in on April 1 and began appearing on bimonthly bills June 1. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.24.03 @ 05:45 AM MST [link]

Colo. residents ready for wildfire season
DURANGO — Carl and Freda Brown had two minutes to leave when the 70,000-plus-acre Missionary Ridge fire neared their ranch. When they returned home, rain on the burned slopes above the ranch brought mudslides and another threat to the house they had lived in for 50 years.

Today there's something new at Cool Water Ranch: a motor home filled with their prized possessions, ready to go at a moment's notice if Carl, 73, and Freda, 65, have to leave again.

"Our concern is people may have become quite complacent about the potential for fire danger," said Terry McCann, spokesman for the Pike National Forest that was burned by the Hayman fire, Colorado's worst blaze, last summer. "We have had a number of campfires left untended or abandoned. Fortunately, there were no noteworthy problems, but all it takes is one." (Boulder Daily Camera)

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06.23.03 @ 05:59 AM MST [link]

Wet spring lights fuse on July 4 fireworks
DENVER - Fourth of July fireworks displays fizzled statewide last year after extremely dry conditions resulted in forest fires.

But this year, pyrotechnics will light up the skies across Colorado once again for Independence Day celebrations.

No fire bans have been issued - at least not yet - because of abundant snow and rain that fell in early spring. (Denver Post)

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06.23.03 @ 05:56 AM MST [link]

Do or dry for mountain towns
DILLON - Colorado's crown-jewel mountain resorts - Winter Park, Lake Granby, Dillon, Keystone and Copper Mountain - have just about everything, except enough water.

During the next 30 years, nearly two dozen fast-growing communities in Summit and Grand counties will face water shortages as Front Range cities siphon off larger and larger amounts to quench their thirsts, according to a new report. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.23.03 @ 05:53 AM MST [link]

Scout camp rises from fire's ashes
DECKERS - Last summer, 740 or so Girl Scouts stayed home as the worst fire in Colorado history toasted the area surrounding their camp.

This summer, the Girl Scouts will be at their camp, and the only thing being toasted will be marshmallows and weiners. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.23.03 @ 05:50 AM MST [link]

Search for woman heads into 3rd day
PINECLIFFE - Search-and-rescue crews Sunday failed to find the body of a 55-year-old Denver woman who lost her footing and fell into a roiling South Boulder Creek the day before.

She was presumed dead.

"We have pretty high confidence that if she was alive and clinging to a rock, she would have been found," Boulder County emergency services coordinator Don Whittemore said. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.23.03 @ 05:48 AM MST [link]

Man killed, woman missing in swift waters
At least one person who sought refuge from Saturday's heat in area streams found himself overwhelmed by swift icy waters.

A 23-year-old man was killed when he decided to take a dip in the South St. Vrain River in Boulder County. The man's mother, girlfriend and stepfather watched as he swam in a relatively calm pool between two rocks. But the family became concerned by the rushing waters.

A search for a 55-year-old woman who slipped into the South Boulder Creek east of Pinecliff on Saturday night was called off when it became too dark to continue. (Denver Post)

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06.22.03 @ 05:20 PM MST [link]