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Tag: Colorado Wildfires

Polis Declares Disaster Emergency As Ferris Fire Tops 57,000 Acres
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Polis Declares Disaster Emergency As Ferris Fire Tops 57,000 Acres

By: Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado The growing Ferris Fire in southwest Colorado has consumed over 50,000 acres, prompting Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to declare a disaster emergency. On Wednesday, the governor's office announced the verbal declaration, which activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and increases the resources available for containment efforts. Ferris Fire moves up steep terrain in the Glade Creek area. Ferris Fire Incident Command READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Aspen Acres Fire Tops 91,000 Acres as New Evacuations Hit Fremont County
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Aspen Acres Fire Tops 91,000 Acres as New Evacuations Hit Fremont County

By: Dana Coffield | The Colorado Sun The Willow fire near Leadville grew by 900 acres overnight spurring mandatory evacuation of areas southwest of the city. Ouray 100 race canceled because of Gold Mountain fire. The Aspen Acres fire southwest of Pueblo made another surge Sunday, bringing the total acres burned to 91,523, federal fire officials said, and making it the seventh largest wildfire on record in Colorado. Authorities said Thursday the fire was human-caused but released no further details about its origin as it raced northeast from near the Aspen Acres campground across Pueblo County, where it forced the evacuation of the towns of Beulah, Colorado City, Rye, San Isabel and Wetmore. Around 8:15 p.m. Sunday, the Fremont County sheriff issued a mandator...
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FEMA Approves Additional Fire Aid as Colorado Wildfires Burn Across State
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

FEMA Approves Additional Fire Aid as Colorado Wildfires Burn Across State

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis announced Sunday that FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Willow fire as firefighting efforts continue across the state. The Willow fire has placed more than 1,500 people under mandatory evacuation orders and another 2,100 residents under pre-evacuation notices, according to the governor’s office. The fire, reported June 28, has burned almost 4,000 acres and is 1% contained. “This Federal Fire Management Assistance Grant will help our state take all necessary actions to protect Coloradans and communities,” Polis said in a statement. “Protecting lives, property, and businesses is our top priority.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Community Steps Up as Aspen Acres Fire Grows Across Southern Colorado
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Community Steps Up as Aspen Acres Fire Grows Across Southern Colorado

By Gabriela Vidal, Jack Lowenstein, Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado The has grown significantly and forced new evacuations. Southern Colorado authorities said the wildfire, which has destroyed more than 180 structures — including an unknown number of homes — has burned 55,405 acres since it began on Monday.  The fire is the largest in the region currently and is burning in Pueblo and Custer counties. It's the country's No. 1 firefighting priority, officials said in a news conference on Wednesday. There have been strong, sustained winds in the area, and no meaningful moisture in the forecast, which caused further growth throughout the day on Thursday. "It breaks my heart every day, just seeing it grow and grow, and there's nothing you can do about it either,"...
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Three Wildland Firefighters Die In Burnover During Western Colorado Fire Fight
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Three Wildland Firefighters Die In Burnover During Western Colorado Fire Fight

By: Logan Smith, Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Three wildland firefighters died Saturday during their response to a pair of Colorado wildfires, federal agencies announced early Sunday morning.  Two other firefighters were injured and flown out by helicopters to area hospitals. "Our immediate focus is on supporting their families, friends, and fellow crewmates during this incredibly difficult time," the U.S. Wildland Fire Service stated in a 12:30 a.m. social media post.  The five fighters were caught in a "burnover," according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Interior. A burnover occurs when firefighters are overtaken or trapped by a wildfire and take cover under protective shelters carried in their packs. Firefighters are trained to use...
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Congress Should Fix Our Forests Before the Next Red Flag Warning
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Congress Should Fix Our Forests Before the Next Red Flag Warning

By Hunter Rivera | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I still remember the orange sky over Loveland in October 2020: ash on windshields, headlights at noon, and a horizon rimmed with flame. The Cameron Peak Fire burned more than 200,000 acres across the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Rocky Mountain National Park, destroying hundreds of structures and forcing thousands to evacuate. The same month, the East Troublesome Fire exploded across Grand County, jumping the Continental Divide and claiming lives. Those weren’t abstract “Western wildfire” headlines. They were in Northern Colorado’s front yard. If you want to remember what megafire really means, drive Highway 14 toward Cameron Pass. Mile after mile, blackened trunks still stand like matchsticks where forest...
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Xcel Power Shutoffs Leave Colorado Small Businesses Facing Major Losses
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Xcel Power Shutoffs Leave Colorado Small Businesses Facing Major Losses

By Sage Kelley | The Denver Gazette Restaurants west of Denver are still coming to grips with product losses and future revenue concerns after power shutoffs last week by Xcel Energy due to high winds. “It’s like living in a third-world country,” Brandon Bortles, owner of Nosu Ramen and Abejas Bistro in Golden, said Tuesday. “We’re all behind the eight ball. I want to know, are we going to do this 10 times a year? What are we going to do in the future? Just shut down the town every day?” Xcel Energy turned off the power multiple times to at least 48,000 customers amid severe winds and extreme wildfire danger between Wednesday and Friday. As many as 160,000 customers were without power at some point, officials said. The initial shutoff occurred Wednesday morning ...
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Colorado congress members ask Trump for disaster declaration over Rio Blanco County wildfires
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Fox31, Approved, State

Colorado congress members ask Trump for disaster declaration over Rio Blanco County wildfires

By Jacob Factor | Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s congressional delegation is asking President Donald Trump to declare a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for the wildfires that struck Rio Blanco County over the summer. The lawmakers in a joint letter to the president asked him to make the disaster declaration and open federal assistance for Western Slope County after the Lee and Elk fires burned more than 150,000 acres and caused more than $27 million in damages.5 charged with starting wildfire while Lee, Elk and Crosho Fires burned nearby “Successful recovery is essential to restoring the County’s economy, which depends on oil and gas, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and hunting and fishing,” the lawmakers said in the letter. “Without additional support, resid...
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Xcel reaches $640M agreement to resolve all Marshall fire claims
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denvergazette.com, Approved, Local

Xcel reaches $640M agreement to resolve all Marshall fire claims

By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy reached an agreement in principle to settle all claims relating to the 2021 Marshall fire, the organization said in a statement Wednesday. The organization will pay north of $640 million to resolve all the pending litigation, about $350 million of which will be funded by its remaining insurance coverage, Xcel said. Individual agreements will still remain subject to final documentation and deliberation with individual plaintiffs. The December 2021 fire destroyed more than 1,000 businesses and homes in Louisville, Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County, taking two lives and forcing 37,000 people to evacuate. Despite the agreement, Xcel said its equipment did not cause or contribute to the fire and it does not admit any ...
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Same week, same county, different response: Inside the Elk and Lee fires
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Local, Top Stories

Same week, same county, different response: Inside the Elk and Lee fires

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Flames boiled the pond on Mike Clark’s ranch, scorched irrigated fields and melted fiberglass fence posts in minutes. On August 6, the Lee Fire came so fast friends were calling with warnings as his family scrambled to clear trees and pump water toward the house.  Just miles away on the Elk Fire side, air tankers and ground crews had been dropping water since early morning. Mike Clark is no stranger to high stakes. A fourth-generation Coloradan and CEO of Petrox Resources, he built his life and business in the same place he raised his children. For decades, Clark has run Petrox while also working the family’s ranch, a property he moved to more than 30 years ago for its open spaces, agricultural roots and the chance to raise his kids in a...
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