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Colorado Faces Long Fire Season As Crews Gain Momentum On Major Blazes
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Long Fire Season As Crews Gain Momentum On Major Blazes

By Justin George | The Colorado Sun Procession along I-70 scheduled Monday for pilot killed fighting Gold Mountain fire. On Sunday, firefighters worked across Colorado and prepped for monsoon weather. As firefighters work to fortify containment lines on wildfires burning across Colorado, a procession is set for Monday to escort the body of helicopter pilot Nicholas Dale from Montrose to Denver International Airport.  Dale, 56, of Canada died July 12 when his helicopter crashed into Silver Jack Reservoir while fighting the Gold Mountain fire near Ouray.  A small convoy of about 10 emergency vehicles is scheduled to leave Montrose at 7 a.m. Monday from Cripping Funeral Home and will travel north to Grand Junction then east on Interstate ...
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Rye Evacuations Continue As Aspen Acres Fire Nears 100,000 Acres
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Rye Evacuations Continue As Aspen Acres Fire Nears 100,000 Acres

By: Savannah Eller and Nick Smith | The Denver Gazette The wait has no end in sight for evacuated residents of Rye, near where the Aspen Acres fire continues to burn in rough, tinder-dry terrain to the west. While about 6,400 people have been able to return to communities like Colorado City, Wetmore and Beulah, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero told attendees at a community meeting Tuesday night that conditions were not yet safe for an additional 3,000 displaced people. “I wish I had the answer,” he said. The problem, explained Brad Washa, operations section chief with the Alaska Complex Incident Management Team, is fuel and weather. He said the part of the fire burning near St. Charles Peak is finding extremely receptive fuel in Engelman spruce trees, many of ...
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Firefighting Pilot Nicholas Dale Remembered After Fatal Colorado Helicopter Crash
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Firefighting Pilot Nicholas Dale Remembered After Fatal Colorado Helicopter Crash

By: Christa Swanson, Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado A 56-year-old Canadian pilot who crashed into a Colorado reservoir in a firefighting helicopter and died over the weekend has been identified. Nicholas Dale, a frontline federal contracted fire aviation pilot from Sooke, British Columbia, was killed on Sunday when his aircraft crashed into the Silver Jack Reservoir in western Colorado. He was involved in the battle against the Gold Mountain Fire. His body was later recovered from the aircraft, a K-MAX helicopter. The Gunnison Sheriff's Office says the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the crash. The sheriff's office said in a news release it "offers its deepest condolences to Mr. Dale's family, friends, and fellow wildfir...
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Disaster Declaration Issued as Routt County Wildfires Threaten Communities
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Disaster Declaration Issued as Routt County Wildfires Threaten Communities

By: Eugene Buchanan | The Denver Gazette Kris and Jenn Shea of Steamboat Springs were lucky. When the evacuation orders came for their home near the new “Green Ridge Fire” — which erupted near Stagecoach Reservoir, about 15 miles south of Steamboat, on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. and quickly spread to 94.3 acres by that evening — they were both out of town. Jenn was in Buena Vista, and Kris was fishing in Florida. But their friends were there to rally support and grab their belongings.  Fortunately, it didn’t come to that as the order was soon rescinded. But for Kris, it was touch-and-go with the fire spotting just a mile or two away.  “It was pretty surreal,” said Kris, who owns Cruiser’s Sub Shop. “I was in the middle of the Gulf and felt a little handcuffed. My wi...
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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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Grand Junction Pays Tribute to Three Firefighters Lost in Snyder Fire
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Grand Junction Pays Tribute to Three Firefighters Lost in Snyder Fire

By Robert Garrison | Denver7 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The three firefighters killed in the Snyder Fire west of Grand Junction last month were remembered and honored during a memorial service Sunday. Federal firefighters Emily Barker, 38, Nick Hutcherson, 27, and Sydney Watson, 27, were killed June 27 fighting the more than 30,000-acre wildfire on the Colorado-Utah state line. Authorities said they were trying to shield themselves from flames by deploying tent-like shelters when they were overcome. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Evacuations Lifted After Wildfire Contained West Of Boulder
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Evacuations Lifted After Wildfire Contained West Of Boulder

By Austen Erblat, Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado Evacuations have been lifted for an area west of Boulder due to a wildfire on Monday evening, Boulder County officials said. County officials said the evacuation orders were in place in the area of 519 Wild Turkey Trail in Fourmile Canyon. As of 10:30 p.m. the fire was 100% contained with about 3 acres burned. Boulder County Evacuees are being told to avoid Wild Turkey Trail and take Evening Star Road for evacuations. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Yuma County Fires Race Across Plains Burning Tens Of Thousands Of Acres During 80 MPH Gusts
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Yuma County Fires Race Across Plains Burning Tens Of Thousands Of Acres During 80 MPH Gusts

By Stephanie Butzer, Robert Garrison | Denver7 Officials told us they believe these fires were caused by downed power lines. Denver7 is working to learn more and will have a crew reporting through the morning. YUMA COUNTY, Colo. — Emergency personnel have contained all but one wildfire in Yuma County overnight after multiple fires broke out Wednesday evening as strong wind gusts pummeled the state. The only fire that was currently active as of 2:30 a.m. Thursday was in a rural area of the county south of Eckley near the Heartstrong neighborhood. It had burned an estimated 40,000 acres as of then, according to Jake Rockwell, emergency manager for Yuma County Office of Emergency Management. By that point, the other fires had been contained. As of 7:40 a.m., the Color...
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Colorado Officials Arrest Five for Wildfire in Rio Blanco County
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Colorado Officials Arrest Five for Wildfire in Rio Blanco County

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Five people have been arrested in connection to a 35-acre wildfire that started on Aug. 15 in Rio Blanco County, according to the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office. The fire sparked in the Yellow Jacket area, which is northeast of Meeker in Rio Blanco County. Deputies were able to begin an investigation and preserve evidence while firefighters and air support were actively fighting the blaze, which indicated the fire was “likely human-caused,” according to a sheriff’s office release. Those charged, and the charges they are facing, were announced as: Zachary Williams, 29 A state felony charge of firing woods or prairie Several federal charges, including entering a forest closure, possession of fireworks and removing wood with...
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