Colorado State Parks has campfire safety tips
With the Fourth of July holiday around the corner, Colorado State Parks offers basic fire safety tips for visitors to the outdoors this summer. (Ponderosa Times)

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07.03.03 @ 06:11 AM MST [link]

Frisco retreat owner looks on positive side following fire
FRISCO - A fire Tuesday at Mar Dei's Retreat in Frisco is going to pose problems for Fourth of July reservations, but a co-owner is looking at the positive side. (Summit Daily News)

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07.02.03 @ 06:06 AM MST [link]

Insurance-law change keeps agents busy
Insurance agents around Colorado saw a flood of clients wanting to change their automobile policies on Tuesday, the day that tort insurance became the law in Colorado for the first time in nearly 30 years. (Denver Post)

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07.02.03 @ 05:57 AM MST [link]

Hundreds of poker chips gone, Jeffco DA says
"I'll see your bet and raise you... Hey, where's my poker chips?" (Rocky Mtn News)

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07.02.03 @ 05:51 AM MST [link]

No decision after 13-hour hearing on Lookout Mtn TV tower
GOLDEN - An epic, eyelid- drooping 13-hour public hearing on a proposed television broadcast tower came and went Tuesday without a decision from Jefferson County Commissioners. (Rocky Mtn News)

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(More news on the PonderosTimes.com)
07.02.03 @ 05:45 AM MST [link]

Missing woman last seen in Evergreen
The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office is asking for help in locating Diana Keyser, 52 (pictured, left).

She is 5-feet, 4-inches tall, weighs 105 pounds, has red hair and blue eyes. She was last seen in Evergreen Sunday night, June 29, driving a green 2003 Subaru Outback station wagon, license plate BGK 663.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office at (303) 679-2393.

07.01.03 @ 03:30 PM MST [link]

Buffalo in Pine, now with pictures!
One of the loose buffalo, previously reported in the Pinecam Forum, wandered into Swiss Village Monday night and we've got the pictures to prove it.

Read the Pinecam Forum discussion and see the pictures.

Read the updated story on the PonderosaTimes.com.
07.01.03 @ 12:41 PM MST [link]

Officials say people start most fires
PHOENIX - From careless campers to opportunistic arsonists, people start most of the wildfires that rage in the United States each year, fire officials said. (Boulder Daily Camera)

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07.01.03 @ 06:06 AM MST [link]

TV tower hearing today
GOLDEN - Jefferson County commissioners today will take up the latest in a string of proposals to locate digital television transmission towers on Lookout Mountain. (Rocky Mtn News)

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07.01.03 @ 05:58 AM MST [link]

Altitude sickness factor in hiker death
CONEJOS - A 23-year-old Lakewood man, whose body was found within 200 yards of his campsite Sunday, died of altitude sickness and dehydration, Conejos County Sheriff Joe Taylor Jr. said Monday. (Rocky Mtn News)

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07.01.03 @ 05:55 AM MST [link]

Denver considers Eagle River reservoir deal
EAGLE - Denver Water is working on a deal which could create a major new reservoir in Eagle County to serve both the Front Range and Western Slope, giving up in exchange the right to use billions of gallons of water from the Eagle River. (Rocky Mtn News)

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07.01.03 @ 05:51 AM MST [link]

Water In Major Mountain Reservoirs Nearing Capacity
DILLON - Two of the biggest sources of water for the Denver area are near capacity, much to the relief of water managers and the delight of the public. (TheDenverChannel.com)

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06.30.03 @ 02:30 PM MST [link]

Teen Who Confessed To Starting Snaking Fire Sentenced
FAIRPLAY - The last teen to be found guilty in connection with last year's Snaking Fire was sentenced Monday to years probation. Austin Dunst, 15, testified against two other teenagers convicted in igniting the fire. In exchange for his testimony against his friends, Dunst was charged with a misdemeanor. (TheDenverChannel.com

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06.30.03 @ 12:25 PM MST [link]

Fireworks are illegal on USDA-Forest Service lands
PUEBLO - If you plan to celebrate the holiday on USDA-Forest Service lands during the July 4th Holiday, don't even think about bringing fireworks with you. (Ponderosa Times)

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06.30.03 @ 10:41 AM MST [link]

Keystone fighting tighter water rules
KEYSTONE - Keystone Resort says a proposal to tighten water-quality standards for Jones Gulch and several other Snake River tributaries could interfere with existing operations and expansion plans at the Summit County ski area. (Denver Post)

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06.30.03 @ 06:00 AM MST [link]

Hearing set for Lookout Mountain TV tower
GOLDEN - The Jefferson County commissioners have scheduled a day-long hearing Tuesday for a broadcast tower rezoning request for Lookout Mountain. (Denver Post)

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06.30.03 @ 05:56 AM MST [link]

Scientists aim to rid rivers of foreign fish
CRAIG - The government motorboat slips across the murky backwaters of the Yampa River, the biologists aboard on the prowl for the enemy. Their target: the northern pike. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.30.03 @ 05:52 AM MST [link]

Searchers find body of missing Lakewood hiker
CONEJOS - Search teams have found the body of a 23-year-old Lakewood man who had failed to return from a hike along the Continental Divide in the South San Juan Wilderness. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.30.03 @ 05:49 AM MST [link]

Perspective: How do we stop the flames?
The debate over wildfire prevention is written in smoke across the skies of Arizona and New Mexico. Recent fires near Albuquerque and Tucson are only the latest blazes that have turned dream homes into smoldering ruins. The question behind the debate is what the federal government should do to reduce the risk to people and property. (Denver Post)

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06.29.03 @ 12:13 PM MST [link]

Search resumes for missing Lakewood Hiker in SW Colorado
The Conejos County Sheriff's Office was notified Friday, June 27, 2003 of an overdue back country hiker who had not checked in with his family for about two weeks. The individual has been identified as Sean Michael Spinney (DOB - 12-4-1979) of Lakewood, Colorado. Spinney's camp was located at 8 pm Friday night by the Conejos County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team augmented by USFS Law Enforcement Officer Chris Ortiz and an air crew and UH60A Blackhawk helicopter from the Air National Guard based at Buckley. The initial search area was located about one mile south of Trail Lake and two miles east of Elk Creek in Conejos County.

Items were discovered at the camp site that confirmed it had been used by Spinney at least through June 16, 2003. Spinney was dropped off at the Cumbres Pass trailhead by his mother Judy Pottle on June 11, 2003 with at least 2 weeks worth of supplies for his hike. He had planned to spend a month in the mountains and indicated he would stop and get additional supplies as he needed them. According to family members who are staying in Antonio, Colorado as the second phase of the search was to began Saturday morning, Spinney was an experienced climber and outdoorsman.

More ground searchers looked for Spinney today. An airsearch using a Blackhawk helicopter was also used today from 8:30 am until 1 pm.

One ground search team from Conejos Search and Rescue was also dispatched to the area and will search through dusk Saturday night. Three teams using horses and motorized vehicles also searched near where Spinney's campsite.

Conejos County Sheriff Jose Taylor Jr. is leading the search efforts

06.29.03 @ 07:50 AM MST [link]

Wet Spring reduces need for open fire bans
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The wet spring and absence of extended periods of hot weather means few open fire bans in western Colorado.

Still, law enforcement agencies still want people to be careful, particularly with Fourth of July fireworks now for sale. (TheDenverChannel.com)

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06.29.03 @ 07:20 AM MST [link]

15 campers saved after 2 nights in wilderness
TELLURIDE - Thirteen 10th-grade girls and two counselors were rescued Saturday after spending two nights in the Lizard Head wilderness area in Dolores County.

The group, part of a Jewish camp near Telluride, set off on a hike Thursday. The group of girls split from a group of boys with hopes of meeting up at a trailhead. Two counselors were with each batch of kids. (Denver Post)

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06.29.03 @ 06:51 AM MST [link]