Tag: Colorados

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Colorado’s first confirmed wolf pack in decades still hanging around

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have confirmed they have additional evidence that a group of wolves is now residing in northwest Colorado.

The Coloradoan

Recent trail camera photos showing two gray wolves playing at night indicate Colorado’s first confirmed wolf pack in at least seven decades has persisted for the past year.

A pack of six wolves was first spotted in October 2019 and confirmed in Moffat County in January by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Tracks and fur were found throughout the summer and last week images from Defenders of Wildlife trail cameras captured the two wolves. Howling recordings by CPW staff confirmed their presence.

“These photos are a rare glimpse into the lives of Colorado’s few wolves,” said Karin Vardaman, manager of the Working Circle, a coexistence-focused initiative led by Defenders of Wildlife. “Monitoring these wolves is crucial to understanding their patterns of behavior so we can help

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Colorado’s East Troublesome Fire grows amid high winds

The two blazes have the potential to merge, depending on conditions Friday and Saturday. So far, the East Troublesome Fire has forced the evacuations of Granby, Grand Lake and, to the east of Rocky Mountain National Park, the community of Estes Park. An unknown number of properties have been damaged or destroyed, and at least five people are missing.

Noel Livingston, who leads the team of firefighters tackling this blaze as incident commander, said in a news briefing that he expects “another active fire day” Friday, with areas east of the Rockies socked in by clouds, cold air and easterly winds, preventing fire spread there until late in the day.

Meanwhile, areas to the west, including throughout Rocky Mountain National Park and the Grand Lake area, are in a different fire weather environment, with sunshine, relatively warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

Livingston said Thursday that the more than

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Colorado’s Cameron Peak Fire spawns rare smokenado

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The Cameron Peak Fire surpassed 200,000 acres after high winds drove significant fire growth Friday and Saturday.

Fort Collins Coloradoan

A video and photo showed just how challenging conditions were for firefighters battling the Cameron Peak Fire over the weekend.

Friday through Sunday saw the fire grow by nearly 70,000 acres, adding to the largest wildfire in state history, upward of 50 structures were presumably damaged or destroyed and more than a thousand people evacuated their homes up to the western edges of Fort Collins and Loveland.

Colorado Fire Prevention & Control sent a tweet Sunday showing firefighters bracing against wind with flames in the background. Wind gusts of more than 70 mph were reported, fanning the fire that’s grown to more than 205,000 acres as of Tuesday morning.

A photo taken Saturday behind the Masonville Post Office by nearby resident Lorri Provow showed an eerie smokenado snaking into

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Colorado’s COVID-19 restrictions on churches violate Constitution, federal judge rules

Colorado’s COVID-19 public health orders that limit the number of people who can attend indoor religious services and require worshippers to wear masks at all times are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico ruled last week that state officials cannot enforce mask-wearing mandates or some limits on the size of gatherings at Denver Bible Church in Wheat Ridge and Community Baptist Church in Brighton.

The two churches filed a lawsuit against both state and federal authorities in August, alleging public health orders aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus violated their religious rights.

Domenico dismissed most of their claims, but granted part of their request, agreeing they should be exempted from mask-wearing requirements if they interfere with their religious exercise, and from particular limits on indoor gatherings that do not apply to secular institutions.

In the ruling issued Thursday, Domenico found that those

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Strong winds fan Colorado’s largest recorded wildfire

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The largest wildfire in Colorado history grew overnight as high winds pushed the blaze through rural communities and the forecast predicts more “extreme fire behavior” on Saturday.

Gusts of up to 70 mph (112 kph) overnight created “very significant” fire activity, especially along the southeast section, said Cass Cairns, a spokeswoman for the Cameron Peak fire efforts.

“The plan today is to try to hold the fire to the east,” Paul Delmerico, operations chief for the Cameron Peak fire said early Saturday. “We’re facing the same critical fire conditions today as we did yesterday.”


They’re expecting gusts of 60 mph (96 kph) midday, he said.

The fire grew to 293 square miles (759 square kilometers) by Saturday morning and was 57% contained.

Boulder County fire officials reported a new fire had sparked west of Boulder on Saturday afternoon. The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said on

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